Glenbard West tips Metea Valley in overtime
Like a neon sign, Wednesday night's Glenbard West at Metea Valley boys basketball game blared a sense that it would go down to the last basket or overtime.
Both things happened.
Colin Lewis' putback of a Braden Huff shot with just 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Hilltoppers a 58-56 victory to move to 4-0 on the season.
"Metea is a really good team. We were down by 9 at the half. At halftime we made a point to stick together. We knew we would make a run," said Huff, who scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.
It was Huff who hit a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation to send it into extra time.
He opened OT with a dunk that put Glenbard West up 52-50. Caden Pierce, who finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds, sank two free throws to make it a 4-point lead.
Myles Leavy led Metea with 18 points courtesy of six 3-point baskets. Two of them came in overtime, cutting the Hilltoppers' lead to 54-53 and then to tie the game at 56 after Huff's two free throws.
The Mustangs (3-3) led 19-14 after the first quarter and kept that pace going into the second quarter while Glenbard West went cold with 3-of-15 shooting for just 8 points. Metea led 33-24 at halftime.
The Hilltoppers found their groove again offensively in the third quarter, hitting 4 of 10 from the field during that time and stayed consistent the rest of the contest.
"We tried to find the better shot in the rhythm of our offense," said Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka.
He said three factors are responsible for his team's strong start to the season.
"The kids believe. The kids play together as a unit. They trust each other," he said.
For Metea it was a very strong performance with a few plays that didn't go the Mustangs' way.
"We did a lot of good things. We had an opportunity to close the game (in regulation) up 3," Mustangs coach Isaiah Davis said. "In overtime we battled back again at the end. We got the stop, but the offensive rebound went to Glenbard West."
Marquell Brumfield had a game-high 10 rebounds for Metea.