Keener, Glenbard North stop ACC in OT
There are a lot worse places for the basketball to be than in the hands of Glenbard North point guard Anthony Keener.
In overtime Keener helped press the issue against Aurora Central Catholic and went 4 of 4 from the foul line as the Panthers won 75-69 in third-day action Wednesday at Waubonsie Valley's Matt Laurich Christmas Classic.
After 32 minutes Glenbard North coach Joe Larson had enough passivity against ACC's zone defenses.
“We wanted layups against that zone instead of jump shots,” Larson said. “I thought we took advantage of that at the beginning of overtime. Got some easy looks underneath.
“Against a zone a lot of times it lulls you into just passing, falling asleep, but you've got to be aggressive against it. I thought we did that tonight.”
Entering overtime tied 61-61, Glenbard North (6-4) first got a Josh Fleming basket off an Alex Smith assist. ACC's Joe Medgyesi made 1 of 2 free throws, then Glenbard North scored 9 straight points on inside baskets by Matt Pemberton and Smith and free throws from Pemberton, Fleming and Keener to go up 72-62 with 59 seconds left in overtime.
Joey McEachern twice tied up Panthers to give the Chargers possession and then scored. Glenbard North's Mark Ng hit a foul shot, but ACC's Ryan Harreld hit a 3 to cut Glenbard North's lead to 73-69 with 19 seconds left.
Keener clinched the win with a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left and rebounded the last 3-point shot from Aurora Central (5-7).
“We shoot lots of free throws in practice,” said Keener, who scored a game-high 24 points and hit four 3-pointers. “I've been in that situation plenty of times. I'm used to it.”
The win sends Glenbard North into the fifth-place game at 4 p.m. Thursday against Marmion. That's better than where the Panthers were headed after an 0-2 tourney start, including Tuesday's 94-93 loss to Eisenhower.
“Yesterday was a tough loss and we came out today with a lot of fight,” the 6-foot-8 Pemberton said, “and we wanted to get a ‘W.' That's all that matters.”
Fleming, who nearly won the game in regulation on a drive that lipped out, scored 21 points and Clark added 12 for Glenbard North. ACC was led by Harreld and Robert DeMyers with 20 points apiece, followed by McEachern with 11. ACC will play Plainfield Central for third place at 5:45 p.m.
The Chargers rallied from a 50-46 deficit after three quarters and forced overtime on Harreld's two free throws with one minute left.
Once in overtime, Medgyesi said: “We took a couple bad shots and that was basically it. We did good, but we didn't do good enough.”