Glenbard North gains momentum
It took a while for Glenbard North to get Downers Grove North to play its style of game in Monday's opening round game in the Class 4A Geneva boys basketball regional.
But once the Trojans got there, it didn't take very long for the Panthers to blast past them as they won convincingly, 74-50.
No. 14 seed Glenbard North (12-13) will now look to continue its season tonight against No. 3 seed Benet Academy.
"I felt we got them to play the pace we like to play; got them to play up and down," Glenbard North coach Joe Larson said. "We turned them over quite a few times in that third quarter, and that leads to a lot of baskets for us."
No. 17 seed Downers Grove North (8-17) fell behind by 10 points once in the first half, but clawed to within 39-32 at halftime.
The Trojans best scoring threat proved to be the inside presence of 6-foot-4 Tyler Mason (12 points) but he'd be limited to only 3 points after the opening quarter as the Panthers got the Trojans caught up in their frenzied paced play.
And then they took the game over.
A pair of free throws by James Fleming, a nifty three-point play by Reggie Davis and a 3-pointer by Mike Carev put the Panthers ahead 49-36 midway through the third quarter. After a timeout, the Panthers scored 6 straight points to extend the lead to 55-36 with 2:48 left in the third quarter.
"We just started pressuring them a bit more and playing our style," Carev said. "I thought we played very well and everyone made plays."
Larson praised the play of his bench, which came up big with starters Brandon Clark and Alex Smith sidelined with foul trouble beginning early in the second quarter. Josh Fleming led the way for the non-starters with 13 points, Anthony Keener added 5 points and Bryan Kraus chipped in with 4 points.
"Those things can happen in the playoffs and guys on the bench have to be ready to step up and become productive," Larson said. "Josh played a big game, Kraus too, and that was nice to see."
Josh Fleming was one of four Panthers to score in double figures. James Fleming led the way with 18 points, Davis had 16 and Carev added 12.
After dropping four straight games by a combined 18 points, including a 1-point loss to 21-1 Glenbard East, the Panthers head into Tuesday's game with faith.
"We knew we could play with those good teams and I think that it gives us confidence for now," Larson said. "We were disappointed we lost those games but it can only make you stronger and I think it showed tonight in some of the poise we had."