York holds off Glenbard West
York's boys basketball team walked a fine line Saturday night.
The Dukes never were able to pull away from Glenbard West, but they also never let the Hilltoppers get too close in a 52-44 West Suburban Silver victory in Elmhurst.
York's balance - five players between 5 and 14 points - overcame the dominance of Southern Illinois-bound Hilltoppers wing Evan Taylor, who scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Taylor scored 6 straight points late in the fourth quarter to make it a 4-point game, but York finished strong at the free-throw line.
"We know basketball is a game of runs, so as a senior group we never get too high or too low," said York senior guard Nick Kosich, who scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter. "It's all about how you respond to their runs and make your own. It was a great team effort."
York (6-1, 2-0) never trailed after breaking out to an 11-2 lead, an early run capped by an Erik Cohn 3-pointer. The Dukes reached a double-digit margin in the second and fourth quarters but couldn't break it open - mostly because of Taylor.
But while the 6-foot-6 senior tried to carry his team, Taylor needed more help. Carter Lindstrom was the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points for the Hilltoppers (5-2, 0-1), who shot 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
"I thought we had some good looks both around the rim and on the perimeter," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "Evan contributed pretty well tonight, but we've got to get more contributions from some other people, especially scoring-wise. And I know we will. It's just tonight we missed some shots that we've been making."
Six-five Sam Walsh was strong again in the post for the Dukes, scoring a team-high 14 points while battling foul trouble. Nate Shockey added 9 points for York, which made 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter, including six straight in the final minute.
"Taylor is a special player, and we knew that coming in," said York coach Vince Doran. "When they got it to four, Nate and Nick both hit really big free throws for us."
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