Shurna carries Hilltoppers to championship
A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
In John Shurna's case his task was to score 17 points in Glenbard West's decisive 20-4 run against Nazareth.
The Hilltoppers overcame a tepid start to beat Nazareth 54-49 Friday, winning the Glenbard West Holiday Classic for the fourth time in the event's six years.
The 6-foot-8 Shurna finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter.
"I've had great leaders on my teams in the past and I've just been trying to learn from them and trying to take a step in the right direction. If it means picking the guys up and trying to make plays, then so be it," he said.
"I'm the only guy with playing-time experience, basically, on the team, so I think it's my job to kind of try and step up and be the leader out there on the court."
Initially Glenbard West (8-4) seemed taken aback not only by the spunk of Nazareth guards Curtis Cannon, Dom Rocco and Charlie Herr, as well as the physicality of forwards Pat Reardon, Jake Fuller and Phil Moore, each of whom harassed Shurna.
"The way he creates shots for the other people is by getting it inside first," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "We weren't getting shots out of what we normally do, and that hurt us a little bit."
Nazareth (9-3) forced 8 first-quarter turnovers and 1-of-9 shooting to lead 10-2.
Shurna stepped away from the paint to score 11 points in the second quarter, and guard J.T. Wiebe scored key 4 key points to pull Glenbard West within 25-21 at halftime, but by 3:53 of the third quarter Nazareth led 36-27.
Glenbard West guard Dave McCaffrey lit a fuse with his 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 36-30.
"That was a big momentum changer," McCaffrey said. "But John really led us through the whole thing."
Shurna's 3 free throws got the Hilltoppers within 37-33 entering the fourth quarter. He hit 2 more free throws and an inside basket for the game's first tie at 37-37.
His 16-foot jumper with 5:35 left gave Glenbard West its first lead, 39-38. Shurna answered a Nazareth basket with 8 points in the paint for a 47-40 lead with 2:09 left.
A 3 by Mike Garabedian -- to finish with a team-high 20 points -- had Nazareth down 49-47 with 58 seconds left. McCaffrey and Shurna hit 5 of 6 free throws to ice it.
"You just know over the course of the game he's going to get his," Nazareth coach John Bonk said of Shurna. "And I thought we did a better job early than we did late on him, which was pretty evident by the score."