Glenbard North motivated to beat Glenbard East
With Naperville North in the rearview mirror and a looming trip to West Aurora on Friday, Tuesday might have become a letdown for Glenbard North’s boys basketball team.
This, however, was Glenbard East.
With one of their fiercest rivals coming to Carol Stream, the Panthers found plenty of motivation in a 65-51 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Glenbard East.
Glenbard North (11-6, 8-1) remains tied in the loss column atop the DVC standings with Naperville North and West Aurora. The Panthers’ Friday game at West Aurora will knock one of those teams out of first place.
“It was a great win over a rival team,” said Panthers forward Ryan Krueger. “We’re definitely having a lot of confidence, and we’re really just focused on winning one game at a time. Now we can really focus on Friday.”
After losing to Glenbard East (9-10, 3-5) at the District 87 tournament and beating the Rams by 4 points in the first round of DVC play, Glenbard North cruised Tuesday by storming to a 31-17 halftime lead.
The athletic Panthers had their transition game going full steam in the third quarter, especially during a 9-0 run highlighted by a pair of nifty one-handed dunks from 6-foot-6 Josh Fleming.
Fleming’s bucket to start the fourth quarter lifted the lead to 54-33, with the Rams getting as close as 14 points away down the stretch.
“They came out and executed and held home court like they’re supposed to,” said Glenbard East coach Scott Miller. “They’re clicking at this point, and they played like it. They played well.”
Four of Glenbard North’s five starters hit double-figure scoring headed by Fleming’s 20 points. Justin Jackson scored 12 points with Krueger and Chavares Flanigan each adding 11 points. Dante Bailey led Glenbard East with 16 points.
“I felt we were ready for the challenge they were going to bring,” said Panthers coach Joe Larson. “We know it’s going to be a tough task going to West Aurora. Our focus was on Glenbard East tonight. Now our focus will be on West Aurora.”