Peoria, meet Glenbard East

DEKALB -- Johnny Hill heard the call for goaltending from the Rockford Auburn bench.

"I don't know if it was," the Glenbard East senior said. "Do you guys think so?"

Call it what you want, but also call it Hill's play that fans in DeKalb Tuesday night will remember most.

That's saying something.

Hill poured in 32 points, and his spectacular block helped fight off a Rockford Auburn rally as the Rams won the Class 4A NIU supersectional 63-51 to punch their first trip to state since 1964.

Glenbard East (27-3) will play defending 4A champion Simeon (28-2) in a 6:30 p.m. semifinal Friday in Peoria.

Glenbard East led by as many as 16 in the first half, but Rockford Auburn charged to within 51-48 with 6:05 left.

It was 53-48, and Hill threw up a wild shot that led to an Auburn fastbreak. As Auburn's Fred Van Vleet went in for a layup, Hill soared in from behind, swatted the shot away as it neared the glass and corralled the loose ball.

Two Hill free throws made it 55-48. Auburn never again drew closer than 4.

"Probably the play of the game and a huge adrenaline rush," Glenbard East's Zach Miller said. "It knocked us back into place."

Hill, and Glenbard East, had it going early and often.

The Illinois State recruit made a driving layup on the Rams' first possession and seconds later popped a fadeaway jumper from the baseline.

He hit his first 4 shots, capped by a fadeaway jumper from the top of the key. Hill had 17 by half and just missed his personal-best 34.

Hill made 10 of 16 field goals and all 10 of his free-throw attempts.

Miller, who took just 5 shots, knows when to feed Hill's hot hand.

"You can tell in his eye when he's on," Miller said. "Those first couple minutes today, I just knew he was on a roll."

Glenbard East hit 12 of its first 17 shots and seemed on the verge of a blowout up 35-19 with 3:21 left in the half after a Dante Bailey stickback.

Auburn called a timeout, and the Knights clawed to within 35-26 by half. A tough shot in transition by Van Vleet with 3:13 left in the third quarter made it 40-35.

Auburn, seeking to advance to state for the first time since 1975, got as close as 51-48 with 6:05 left on Anthony Strickland's fourth 3-pointer before Hill's big block.

"I think you have to give your opponent credit. They didn't quit," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "Things came pretty easy for us in the first half, but in the second half there were no easy layups and they started hitting shots."

Glenbard East put the game away at the free-throw line. The Rams made all 12 attempts in the fourth quarter, 17 of 18 in the second half.

Tyree York made a pair of them. Just as important, the Rams defensive stopper held Knights leading scorer Van Vleet to 9 points on 3-of-16 shooting half his average. This after York chased around East Aurora's Ryan Boatright for four quarters Friday.

"It's a tough job, but I love to do it," York said. "He's a great guard and probably quicker than I thought. But I just knew I had to stick with him."

Miller had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Twelve years after guiding Plano to the Class A Elite Eight, Scott Miller is taking Glenbard East and his son to state for the first time in 47 years.

"I've been there, and it's wonderful. I want these guys to get the experience of a lifetime," Scott Miller said. "When Zach was 7 we went down we've talked about it every day since about the possibility. When he was little I kind of went along with it, no matter how unrealistic it seemed. I'm just so excited that I get the opportunity to share this with my son and these guys."