Boys basketball: Glenbard East can’t dig out of early hole, loses first UEC game
Every basketball player has their genre of music that gets them hyped.
Liam Enright’s is rock.
Specifically, it’s the beats from Riverside-Brookfield’s student rock band that plays at big games. From a stage on one baseline, the band had the gym pulsating with a pregame concert Tuesday. It also played at halftime and afterward as students stormed the court.
“That’s my favorite part,” said Enright, Riverside-Brookfield’s senior guard. “I like how we got a band instead of pumped-in music. Sometimes the soloists get a little screechy but that’s OK.”
Enright and the Bulldogs were in symphony.
His hot shooting fueled a huge Riverside-Brookfield run in the first quarter, building a lead that eventually bulged to 20 points.
Burly Benjamin Biskupic, a football lineman, made clutch contributions late as Riverside-Brookfield held off visiting Glenbard East’s furious fourth-quarter comeback for a 69-64 win in the matchup of Upstate Eight East leaders.
Riverside-Brookfield (19-5, 9-1) with its 11th straight win snapped Glenbard East’s (23-3, 9-1) 11-game streak, and pulled even in the conference race.
Cold Bulldogs’ shooting in part contributed to their loss to Glenbard East in the first meeting.
This time, Enright made his first three 3-point shots and scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter as R-B quickly erased an early 10-3 deficit and gave his team positive energy.
“I’m a guy that always has a smile on my face, so when I’m hitting shots and everyone is smiling we’re all going to do well,” Enright said. “There’s some guys on other teams that you can sag off of. Our team you can’t do that.”
Enright’s three 3s were part of a 19-0 run in the first quarter that allowed the Bulldogs to open up a 22-10 lead.
“He knocked down a couple 3s early which gave him some confidence,” R-B coach Mike Reingruber said. “Those were big.”
It seemed to open the floodgates for the Bulldogs, who sliced up Glenbard East’s defense with precise passing and cuts to the basket, providing numerous open looks at the rim.
Cameron Mercer’s 3-pointer with 2:07 left in the third quarter opened up R-B’s biggest lead, at 55-35.
“I thought we were sharing the ball well, I thought our screening and cutting and everything we were doing was with a purpose,” Reingruber said. “We were trailing every screen, our curls and our slips were open. We were running really good offense and making shots.”
Mercer, son of former Kentucky star and NBA pro Ron Mercer, is R-B’s star, and scored 18 points while guarding Glenbard East standout Michael Nee.
But the Bulldogs had nearly five starters scoring in double figures. Biskupic scored 13 with 10 rebounds, Colin Cimino 10 and Noah VanTholen nine with a spectacular chase-down block of a Nee breakaway.
“Cameron’s been our leading scorer all year, and had a hell of a senior year,” Reingruber said, “but other guys stepped up tonight. That’s what good teams do in big situations.”
Nee scored 22 points, Keenan House 21 and Danny Snyder 13 for Glenbard East.
House scored nine in the first quarter to spark the Rams’ early start. But Glenbard East had nine turnovers over the middle two quarters, and the Rams couldn’t slow down R-B’s offense.
“There were a lot of loose balls that we didn’t get to, I don’t know if they had more energy,” Rams coach Eric Kelly said. “On their home floor they were motivated from losing the last game, and knowing the conference title was on the line. They played desperate and usually the more desperate team wins.”
The Rams did late, turning to a 1-3-1 trap to force six R-B fourth-quarter turnovers.
Glenbard East started the quarter on a 15-0 run, closing to within a basket on House’s score off a turnover with 3:44 left.
“It was able to take them out of rhythm, because they were eating us up offensively,” Kelly said. “We probably should have went to it sooner. It was really their role guys who beat us.”
Guys like Biskupic, who was on the bench during Glenbard East’s run but had a basket to get the lead back to 61-57 after Nee missed a 3 for the lead.
In the final minute, Biskupic grabbed a rebound off Van Tholen’s missed free throw, leading to Enright’s free throws with 28.6 seconds left to make it 65-61.
“He’s our glue, absolutely our glue,” Reingruber said. “He does so much of the dirty work, doesn’t care about scoring or recognition. He’ll guard, he’ll rebound, he’ll make an open shot, he’ll do all the little things that every great team needs.”
He’s also the guy that kept finding himself with the ball in the final few minutes as the Bulldogs nursed their lead.
“I’m strong with the ball, but it’s not really my role,” Biskupic said. “The rebound was big, kept that offensive possession when Glenbard East was really turning the tide.”