Boys basketball: House scores career-high 19, leads Glenbard East to key Upstate Eight win
To his credit, Glenbard East senior guard Keenan House eventually found his way back to the basketball court.
The 6-foot-2 House has taken a unique journey in his varsity career. He played on the lower levels at Bolingbrook in his first two seasons, but his path took an odd turn last season.
“I didn’t make the team last year,” House said of his junior season at Bolingbrook. “I was bummed a lot. I had to realize that there are better opportunities. I found a home right here.”
House is making the best of his new home at Glenbard East.
House poured in a career-high 19 points to power the Rams to a 70-58 victory over Riverside-Brookfield in an early-season clash of top Upstate Eight East teams on Friday night in Lombard.
The Rams (9-1, 4-0) relied on a collective effort to knock off the Bulldogs (7-3, 4-1) from atop the conference standings. Michael Nee, a South Dakota recruit, scored 16 points, Jacob Marynowski added 12 and Danny Snider finished with 10. The Bulldogs were led by Cameron Mercer’s 16 points, but he scored just two in the second half. Noan Van Tholen had 12 points and 5 assists and Liam Enright tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
House played solid defense on Mercer and relied on his speed and ability to penetrate to carve up R-B’s defense. In the third quarter, House set the tone with a strong effort with nine points. He scored a bucket in the opening minute, then hit a short jumper, added a putback basket for a 45-40 lead and drained a big 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer. House added a lay-in to give the Rams some separation, a 57-50 lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“I just felt like they couldn’t stop me tonight and I kept going and my teammates passed me the ball and found me with open looks,” House said.
House, a defensive end and wide receiver in football, admitted that he’s playing with a love of the game attitude after sitting out last season from his favorite sport.
“It’s been exciting,” House said. “This season feels amazing, especially since I didn’t play my whole junior year and was just watching other people play. Now, I get to see how it feels to play on the varsity. The teammates accepted me and we have a strong bond.”
Glenbard East coach Eric Kelly said House was a welcome addition to his team. The Rams won 22 games and captured a Class 4A regional title last season, returning four starters but House managed to quickly find a role as a two-way threat on the team.
“We can beat you in many different ways,” Kelly said. “One night it can be Michael Nee or Sam Walton but tonight it was Keenan House…He was our heart and soul tonight.
“(Keenan) was with us over the summer. He played with us during the summer when we went 27-2. Anything we ask him to do, he did it. He’s a coach’s dream. He was ready to go from the jump. He loves basketball. We love having him here.
“Keenan brought something to the table which we didn’t have and that was his size at 6-2 and definitely is a great athlete. He can rebound the ball and guard the other team’s best player. He does a lot of different stuff that we did not have last year. He was a big addition piece to our puzzle.”
Meanwhile, Mercer put his all-around skills on display from the opening tip, scoring the Bulldogs’ first six points to help them overcome a rough start. Mercer, the son of former NBA player Ron Mercer, remains an intriguing prospect because of his next-level bloodlines.
Mercer sparked the Bulldogs numerous times in the first two quarters to keep the Rams from building a big advantage. The first half was filled with frenetic action, up-and-down play by both teams and high percentage shooting.
The Rams opened the game on fire, leaping out to a 10-2 lead behind their transition offense and solid play.
Mercer swished a corner 3-pointer – right at the end of Glenbard East’s bench – to highlight a 10-0 run to end the half for a 36-32 lead.
The Bulldogs couldn’t sustain the momentum in the second half despite seizing a lead for a few portions of the third quarter. Riverside-Brookfield shot just 3-for-22 from the 3-point line.
“They punched us in the mouth to start the (third quarter),” Riverside-Brookfield coach Mike Reingruber said. “We bounced back and took the lead after that. I thought the buzzer-beater 3-pointer (hurt). I felt they did a better job of getting loose balls in the second half, which is all correctable stuff.”