Rams' win a little ugly
Glenbard East didn't care how ugly the game was Friday night against West Chicago, as long as it got the win.
The Rams shot 17 of 43 from the field, turned the ball over 14 times and shot 18 of 31 from the free-throw line, but they still managed to beat the Wildcats 58-44.
Glenbard East (10-3, 3-1) won by forcing the Wildcats into 21 turnovers and coaxing them into shooting 16 of 47 from the field.
West Chicago also went to the foul line only 12 times all game long.
"Playing an ugly game is kind of typical after a break," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "Fortunately for us we were able to play a couple of decent stretches that allowed us to win the ballgame. But teams do play like this after a break so it was kind of expected."
The Rams built a 22-14 halftime lead, but that lead evaporated to a point after the Wildcats (8-8, 2-2) went on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
"Our intensity was pretty decent to start the third quarter," West Chicago coach Kevin Gimre said. "Too bad for us we couldn't maintain that intensity."
Rams pulled away again because guard Zach Miller hit a pair of 3-pointers when the game became a little dicey. Miller scored 8 of his team-high 18 points in that third quarter.
Glenbard East center Lee Skinner also helped carry the load for the Rams. Whenever Glenbard East needed a basket, rebound, defensive stop or spark, Skinner was more than happy to step up and make something happen. For the game Skinner had 11 points, 14 points and 4 blocked shots.
"I thought I was playing a little sloppy tonight, a lot like the game," Skinner said. "All I tell my teammates is I promise to play as hard as I can at all times. I will do the little things and my points will come. I take what I can get."
Scott Miller said Skinner was one of the big reasons why the Rams were able to prevail when things got tight against the Wildcats.
"He really does everything for us," Scott Miller said. "He is probably our fourth option on offense, but he manages to find ways to still score for us. He knows his role. He will play great defense and make all the hustle plays. Tonight he did that for us."
Gimre said the thing that hurt his team the most during their comeback attempt was being in the double bonus for the entire fourth quarter. The Rams shot 18 free throws in the final period, making 11 of them.
"Whenever we needed to make a defensive stop, we fouled them," Gimre said. "Then they were able to go to the line and score points with the clock not moving. We gave them free points. Instead of being a 5-point game, it was a 7-point game and we were fighting an uphill battle. Bottom line is that East made plays when they needed to."
Tyler Griffith scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the loss. Paul Sanders also reached double figures for the Rams with 10 points.