Glenbard West at full strength
With each day that passes by, Glenbard West’s boys basketball players become more comfortable with each other on the court.
That’s bad news for opponents.
The Hilltoppers, playing at full strength for one of the few times this season, wrapped up a season sweep of Lyons Twp. with a 65-49 West Suburban Silver victory Thursday in Glen Ellyn.
Now that third-year guard Jeff Levesque and post player Nathan Marcus are healthy and working their way back into the lineup, Glenbard West (10-7, 3-4) is hoping to pick up steam while pushing through the second half of Silver play.
“Now that we’ve got the team together it feels a lot better,” Levesque said. “The chemistry is there at practice. We’re working hard and just getting after it. It just feels good playing together.”
The cohesion showed in the score book. Levesque, Dikiria Washington and sophomore Keith Hayes all scored in double figures while combining for 45 points. Corey Davis, Marcus and Sean Jenner each had at least 5 points.
Glenbard West’s balance, but more so its overall quickness, allowed the Hilltoppers to surge to a 15-point lead by late in the second quarter. A 12-4 run featured points from four different players and came from inside and outside.
“Our quickness is something we emphasize in practice,” Washington said. “Coach (Tim Hoder) told us it was going to be a plus in this game. It’s something we needed to use with our defensive intensity to win the game.”
After struggling through a 16-point first half, Lyons Twp. (8-11, 1-6) finally awoke offensively. Unfortunately for the Lions, trading baskets with the Hilltoppers in the third quarter didn’t dent the deficit.
Glenbard West put the win to rest behind a 12-7 burst in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter. Levesque scored 8 of his game-high 18 points as the Hilltoppers built a 54-40 lead.
Christopher O’Reilly led the Lions with 15 points while Harrison Niego scored 8 of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
“Incorporating Nathan and Jeff back into things, we’ve just gotten out of our flow a little bit,” Hoder said. “I thought tonight we got back into the flow and got more acclimated with those guys. Just redefining our roles as we get those guys back.”
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