Pierce, Glenbard West show Oak Park
Glenbard West boys basketball standout Justin Pierce can make you pay in many ways.
Pierce can beat you in the paint on a quick move or tip in an offensive board. The 6-foot-6 forward can blow past you off the dribble on a drive to the hoop. He can also hit the long-range shot with defenders in his face.
Oak Park-River Forest found out the hard way about what Pierce is all about as it tried to no avail to try to stop the senior from scoring from all over the court.
Pierce, a William and Mary recruit, poured in a game-high 34 points to power the Hilltoppers to an impressive 71-56 road victory over the Huskies in Oak Park. With the triumph Glenbard West improved its overall record to 14-0 as it builds on the best start in school history. Beating OPRF in its fieldhouse is also a major feat; the Huskies were considered the West Suburban Silver favorites before the season started.
"This is a really good team and they were picked to win our league," Pierce said. "I had this date circled on the calendar because we have gotten run out of the gym here. To win this, to be 2-0 in the league and 2-0 this week and 14-0 right now, I couldn't have scripted it any better."
The Hilltoppers gave up two quick buckets to open the game but then reeled off 10 unanswered points and never trailed again. Pierce had a bucket with a foul for the three-point play. He fed Alex Passi on a long baseball pass the length of the court for a bucket. Passi finished with 18 points.
The Huskies (6-7, 2-2) looked to push the tempo with the full-court press and make Glenbard West play at an uncomfortable pace. That strategy wasn't effective as the Hilltoppers passed their way out of the traps and pretty much scored at will.
"We wanted to speed them up and make our defense be our offense," said OPRF coach Matt Maloney. "Obviously, that didn't work. Pierce had a phenomenal game. We tried four different defenders on him."
"Our main goal was to attack and not be afraid of their pressure," Pierce said. "The past couple of years, we have come in here kind of timid. They can get you nervous but we attacked them from the start."
No one was rolling as well as Pierce. He showed his athleticism on a tip in on an inbounds pass under the basket as time expired in the first quarter. In the second quarter with the play breaking down and timing clicking away, Pierce drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with two defenders draped all over him. Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder is really impressed with Pierce's development as a player.
"The thing that he is doing now, which is really rare for a high school kid and why he is getting to that next level, if something breaks down, he is able to create a shot for himself, just like that at the end of the first quarter to make something out of it," Hoder said. "That is really why he is having such a special year."
The Huskies were led by 20 points from Cameron Gross and 14 points from Breshawn Wilkerson.