Marks leads Glenbard South past Glenbard East

Senior Tim Marks and his Glenbard South boys basketball teammates took a big first step in Monday's season opener.

For the 6-foot Marks, that meant starting and being healthy after an ankle injury that carried over from football hampered his junior year.

"I took the year off (from football) so I focused on basketball," Marks said. "I'm feeling great."

So were the Raiders. They used their size and experience to defeat Glenbard East 73-60 in the first round of the District 87 Invite at Glenbard West.

Senior Billy Bair had 23 points and 9 rebounds for the Raiders. Marks had 15 points and 8 rebounds, and senior Povilas Riauba added 10 points with two 3s.

Glenbard East senior Anthony Ahmed had 16 points and four 3s. Senior point guard Terrance Lakes added 12 points, 10 on free throws.

The Raiders established a 31-20 halftime advantage following a 7:35 scoreless streak by the Rams between the first and second quarters. The Rams came within 7 points early in the third quarter but never closer, although they came within 10 with 3:49 left.

"We've struggled against them the last couple of years so it was nice to see us kind of keep battling there," Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke said. "We got off to a rough start at the beginning of last year. The guys were hungry over the summer, and I think we've progressed nicely."

The Rams came out scoring on four of their first five possessions for a 10-6 lead. Eight points and two 3s came from Ahmed.

Then the Raiders quickly complemented the 6-5 Bair, 6-4 Johnny LaPonte and Marks with two reserves, 6-5 Charlie Bair and 6-1 Kyle Carli, and a matchup zone defense.

"We've got a lot of size this year, a lot more than we have in the past and we're looking forward to using it," Marks said. "We've got a lot of good guys, a lot of experience coming back, a lot of stuff in the arsenal."

By halftime the Raiders led 21-10 in rebounds, which was magnified by the Rams shooting 7 for 26.

"Early on (with) our pressure, we were able to turn them over, but then we'd turn it back over," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "We kind of got the tempo the way we wanted and then we weren't able to covert it, make the layups, and then Glenbard South started getting a lot of confidence."

Glenbard South led 47-35 after three quarters and by as many as 19 points with less than six minutes to go.

Marks had 11 points in the second and third quarters. Billy Bair helped to secure the victory with 11 points in the fourth quarter. Bair also had three of the team's seven baskets directly from putbacks.

"I thought Billy Bair on the glass was the key factor," Miller said. "He really dominated us on the glass inside. He played great."

Last season the Rams didn't just win their invite meeting but dominated 52-32. "We couldn't buy a basket," Hardtke said.

The Raiders' top four scorers from that game played Monday. Marks was scoreless last year.

"They took one from us last year so we've been looking forward to this game," Marks said. "We were a young team last year so the fact that we've got a lot of guys coming back, a lot of senior leadership, it's going to be exciting."