Glenbard West 47, Hinsdale Central 46

When the game's on the line you want the basketball in your best player's hands.

Glenbard West and Hinsdale Central both got that right. Glenbard West happened to do it last.

John Shurna's runner in the lane with 1.8 seconds left beat Hinsdale Central 47-46 in the West Suburban Silver game Friday night in Glen Ellyn.

Shurna's shot trumped Hinsdale Central three-year starter Chris Chana, whose 18-foot fadeaway jumper over the 6-foot-8 Shurna gave the Red Devils a 46-45 lead with 7.6 seconds left.

"I wasn't thrilled," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder, "but I was optimistic."

He called time, the Hilltoppers threw the ball to halfcourt and Hoder took another timeout with 5.6 seconds left.

Shane Bryant inbounded the ball to Shurna just outside the timeline. The lean Northwestern-bound senior dribbled in, was fouled while making the basket, and missed the free throw intentionally. A 3-point heave by Hinsdale Central's Jason Rafferty fell well short.

"I got in the lane and I felt I had an open look, so I just let it fly," said Shurna, who led all scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds.

"Shane did a great job of getting me the ball. It was just a good team effort."

Hinsdale Central coach Ed Lynch assigned two players to deny Shurna the ball, but the defense wasn't quite sticky enough.

"To be quite frank, we did not execute the game plan -- the game plan was to not let John Shurna beat us and he did, so it's disappointing," Lynch said.

He was pleased to be ahead 23-22 at halftime despite 14-point scorer Chana out nearly all half after two quick fouls. It was Chana's first game in nearly two weeks after a high ankle sprain.

John Whitelaw and Clay Foster, who scored 11 points, got off to a quick start, and 6-6 Rich Brennan helped hold Shurna to 6 first-half points, as Glenbard West (4-2, 1-1) made 11 first-half turnovers.

But Hinsdale Central (3-3, 0-2) sank just 3 of 15 second-quarter field goals and 4 of 10 in the third, allowing the Hilltoppers to stick close.

A Rafferty 3-pointer put Hinsdale Central up 44-41 with 2:18 left. A Shurna 15-footer and 2 Bryant free throws set up the final volley between Chana and Shurna.

"Shurna's good, he's real good," Chana said. "But the bottom line is it's a team sport. We just couldn't close out the deal tonight."

Chris Watt scored 9 points for Glenbard West. Bryant had 7 and Bryant Venson 5.