Seniors lead Glenbard South past Marmion

It was a bit of a litmus test for both Glenbard South and Marmion on Friday night in Glen Ellyn.

The Raiders’ seniors ensured that Glenbard South sent the crowd home happy in a hard-fought 67-61 victory in a nonconference tilt.

“That’s the reason we have them on the schedule,” Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke said. “They’re a quality team that’s scrappy and it’s a big victory for us.”

Both teams exchanged blows both figuratively and literally in a foul-marred first half. The teams combined for 26 first-half free throws, and the tightly called half did not allow either team to get into much of an offensive rhythm.

Glenbard South (12-11) took advantage of its trips to the free-throw line, going on an 8-0 run to open the second quarter. The Raiders ferociously attacked the hoop en route to 11 second-quarter points via the free-throw line.

“Most of the game we tried to work it inside between Matt (Jeske) and I,” Glenbard South senior forward Dusko Despot said. “The matchup was good for Matt, so I took their big man to the perimeter and Matt did his work down low.”

The Raiders duo of Despot and Jeske combined for 41 points, and they owned the paint for large stretches of the game.

“I got a lot of good post feeds,” Jeske said. “I felt like I had a mismatch inside, and once I started scoring, it just kept coming and it was one of those nights you’re feeling it.”

Jeske led all players with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Despot chipped in with 16 points and 5 rebounds.

“They’re both capable of scoring inside and outside,” Hardtke said. “Matt’s matchup worked more in our favor, so Dusko was able to step out to the perimeter and utilize Matt’s mismatch. That’s what makes them so hard to defend.”

The Raiders led by double digits for spurts in the second half, but a pesky Marmion (13-12) would not go away.

“We wanted to get off to a good start and ruin their Senior Night,” Marmion senior guard Jeff Garofalo said. “We tried to chip away once they got the lead, and we never gave up.”

Garofalo paced the Cadets with 15 points, while senior guard Pete Stefanski added 10 for Marmion.

In the end, though, it was too much senior power from Glenbard South as 62 of the 67 points scored came from seniors.

“We lost the last few Senior Nights, and with the playoffs around the corner, it was a good performance and hopefully we can peak at the right time,” Jeske said.