Peterkin embraces new role for Glenbard East

When Glenbard East opened its season against Glenbard North on Monday night, Patrick Peterkin had a very satisfying performance.

His team-high 24 points powered a 56-40 boys basketball victory over the Panthers in the opening round of the District 87 Thanksgiving Tournament at Glenbard West after losing last year's matchup 62-46.

"I probably think I'll play a big role (this season), one of the people that they look up to get the shots off when we need it," Peterkin said. "We have a lot of scorers and good shooters. It'll just come when it does."

Juniors Jack Grigat and Zack Walsh also excelled for the Rams, who controlled the game with runs.

They scored the last eight points of the first quarter to pull ahead 21-9. A 10-0 run in the second quarter extended the lead to 31-12 en route to a 37-22 advantage at the break. The Rams added a 9-0 run early in the third quarter to pull away 46-24.

"I think overall we're going to be a team of runs. We're going to get out, try and press people," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said.

"I thought it was a great first half, a lot of energy, a lot of deflections. I thought Patrick Peterkin really got us off to a good start. I think we got a little tired in the second half and we have to keep working on our depth."

In the 2013 opener Peterkin had 11 points with most coming in the fourth quarter after the Panthers had the game in hand.

On Monday Peterkin had 11 points in the first quarter alone and 19 by halftime with three three-pointers. He also collected 4 steals, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

"I felt like I did good and so did my team," Peterkin said.

"He's very skilled, very talented," Miller said. "He's working his way back from an injury. We took him out a little earlier than we normally would. We expect big things from him."

Peterkin ended the first quarter with a driving scoop basket to beat the buzzer and then banked a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end the half. The Rams' third-quarter run included his steal and behind-the-back pass to sophomore Michael Finley for a layup.

"(Our runs) came from defense, defense and offensive boards," Peterkin said.

Peterkin is among the examples of the role reversal these two teams are undergoing this season.

Glenbard North, the defending DuPage Valley Conference champion, graduated its entire starting lineup and most of its key reserves. Returnees this season accounted for just one basket in last year's opener.

Glenbard North coach Joe Larson started two sophomores Monday and gave several players opportunities. Non-starters accounted for 27 points, including a team-best 11 points by senior Brett Miller, who had 3 of the team's six 3-pointers.

"We're trying to figure out some things early on," Larson said. "This tournament's going to be a good one to see who can play at that level, who needs to work on some things and what combinations are going to work."

The Rams clicked offensively in the first half with crisp passing, an inside-outside attack and seven offensive rebounds. The Panthers couldn't keep up with their 7-of-28 shooting.

"The second half, we did a lot better job of defensive rebounding, which really hurt us in the first half, and I liked our effort. We just have to continue to get better," Larson said. "There were definitely a lot of errors and turnovers. And we've got to knock down some shots. We had a lot of open looks that we executed pretty well offensively, but you've got to make shots, too."