Schaumburg stops Glenbrook South

Javon McDonald’s desperation 3-point shot at the first-quarter buzzer went over the backboard and smashed into an illuminated exit sign at Evanston’s Beardsley Gym, wreaking havoc on the plastic fixture.

It was just about the only mistake the Schaumburg senior made all evening.

McDonald scored 17 points and played a smooth, controlled all-around game from the point guard position as the Saxons won the quarterfinal of the Wildkits Class 4A regional tourney by defeating Glenbrook South 46-31.

“McDonald is a great player and he knows how to finish at the rim,” said Glenbrook South coach Scott Nemecek. “We didn’t defend him the way we designed to.”

No. 15 Schaumburg (15-11) will meet No. 2 Evanston (18-10) in today’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal.

“We played them a couple of weeks ago, so we knew what they could do,” McDonald said of a 50-31 win over Glenbrook South. “Their best player was out tonight, so we wanted to take full advantage.”

The player McDonald spoke about was 6-foot-7 Titans (8-19) senior Jack Ryan, who missed the contest after suffering a concussion last week in a loss to Maine West.

The Saxons took control in the second quarter, going 6 of 9 from the field to build a 25-17 halftime lead.

“We slowed it down tonight and got some good shots,” said McDonald. “We knew they struggled against a half-court set, so we made it difficult on them by playing good half-court defense. We didn’t want them to get out on transition because they’ve got some great shooters.”

Schaumburg guard Kyle Bolger (9 points) opened the second-half scoring with a layup, and after Glenbrook South senior Corey McMahon (team-high 10 points) countered with a 3-point basket, McDonald and sophomore center Jimmy Lundquist (5 points) led the Saxons on a 6-point run — and the Titans couldn’t recover.

Schaumburg led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.

“We were not very tenacious tonight,” said Nemecek. “We had a lot of chances at the rim, we just didn’t finish.”

The Saxons’ Christian Spandiary (9 points) made a big contribution.

“I thought we played together very well tonight,” said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. “We fell a little short in our rebounding effort, and we’re going to have to do a better job on that tomorrow, but offensively we moved the ball well.

“We were very patient and that was the key.”