Glenbard West wins in Glen Ellyn rivalry
The District 87 tournament started on the right note for the host Glenbard West boys basketball team on Monday, when the Hilltoppers beat Glenbard South 62-54.
Glenbard South battled back at the end, but there seemed to be no worry for the host Hilltoppers in the season opener with both coaches happy to get the first game out of the way.
"I was happy with our guys because we were able to make some adjustments and they did a good job of that," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "But both teams had a lot of fouls, reach-ins, but that's just the kids being excited to play, so we have to kind of get better in that regard."
The Hilltoppers started quickly against the Raiders, getting out to a 6-2 start and eventually taking the first quarter 13-8 with positive signs coming from junior Justin Pierce.
Pierce hit one of his two 3-pointers early in the first and never looked back. The smooth-shooting forward tallied a game-high 22 points.
"I felt good hitting that first 3. It's always nice to get off to a nice, confident start," Pierce said. "I was getting some nice separation and making my midrange and used that when they were coming up close on me. Used it to get to the basket and get to the free-throw line."
While the Hilltoppers seemed to have a bit more of their off-season rust shaken off in the shooting department, the Raiders did not. The Hilltoppers had back-to-back 20-point quarters to end the third 53-31.
Glenbard South did some decent work down low with sophomore Charlie Bair chipping in 8 points off the bench but forced a lot of mid-range shots. Glenbard South went 4 of 16 from behind the arc and just 12 of 29 from the free-throw line.
"I thought we battled there towards the end (with a 23-point fourth quarter), but with a young group we have a lot of learning to do and today was the first step," said Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke. "We're just trying to find our rhythm."
The Raiders saw a couple good signs however. Junior Povilas Riauba had a team-high 16 points with two of the Raiders' four 3-pointers. He also shot 4 of 7 from the free-throw line.
Glenbard South will take on Glenbard North at 6 p.m. while Glenbard West will square off against Glenbard East at 7:30 p.m. in the second night of the District 87 tournament Tuesday at Glenbard West.