Glenbard East cool in the clutch
Zach Miller has all the attributes of a coach’s son.
The Glenbard East senior guard pumped in a game-high 22 points and converted four free throws over a crucial 12.2-second span to keep Downers Grove South at bay at the Class 4A East Aurora boys basketball sectional semifinals on Wednesday night.
With their 67-62 victory the No. 3-seeded Rams (25-3) snapped the No. 2 Mustangs’ program-record 18-game winning streak to reach the championship game against the host Tomcats on Friday night.
“Composure,” said Miller, who hit consecutive 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions on two occasions to trigger significant Glenbard East runs. “That’s what we talked about all week. You know in games like this you’re going to face some kind of adversity.”
Johnny Hill, the Illinois State recruit, was equally valuable for the Rams, who advanced to the sectional championship game for the second straight year. The smooth forward, playing with a painful shoulder bruise, complemented Miller’s effort with 21 points.
“I took a couple of hits to it,” said Hill, who followed the second Miller 3-point outburst with a driving score to give Glenbard East its largest lead of the game at 41-29 early in the third quarter. “You have to be tough and play through it.”
But the Mustangs, who had four players finish in double figures, would have their own highlight-reel plays. None was more dramatic than Jerron Wilbut stealing a ball at midcourt and throwing down an insidious windmill dunk over Hill as part of a 6-point run late in the third quarter.
“It’s hard to believe (Wilbut) is only a junior,” said Hill, who repaid the debt with a dunk in transition in the fourth quarter with Wilbut in close pursuit. “(Wilbut) got the big play, but we got the ‘W.’ ”
Leading 45-40 to start the final quarter, Glenbard East restored its double-digit lead to at 56-46 on the Hill dunk with four minutes to play.
Downers South would not go quietly, however. Behind the three-guard attack of Wilbut, Jamall Millison and Dan Jurgutis and the play of junior forward Kevin Honn, the Mustangs staged a furious rally with a combination of pressure defense and second-chance points. Honn, who led the Mustangs with 17 points, made it a one-possession game with an inside score with 1:33 remaining.
But the Rams’ resolve was undeterred. Glenbard East hit 15 of its 16 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to thwart the Mustangs’ rally. Miller drained four straight with 25.2 and 13 seconds left, respectively, to restore the Rams’ two-possession lead.
Dante Bailey had his imprints all over the Rams’ win as well. The junior scored 14 of his 15 points in the opening half.
“(Bailey) hit some big 3s early when (Downers South) got off to that early lead,” Miller said.
The teams exchanged 9-2 spurts to begin the game, and Glenbard East scored the first 8 points of the second quarter to forge a 31-27 cushion at the break.
“The first half we didn’t get the ball inside enough,” said Downers South coach Jay Baum. “Their best players probably outplayed our best players, and that was the bottom line tonight.”