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A Willowbrook turnaround

Willowbrook's boys basketball team has spent the bulk of the season searching for consistency.

The Warriors found it in the fourth quarter of Monday's game against Glenbard West.

In a matter of a couple crucial minutes, they turned a 5-point deficit into a 6-point lead and eventually finished off a 58-55 victory over the Hilltoppers in the opening round of pool play at the Glenbard West Holiday Tournament in Glen Ellyn.

Willowbrook sophomore Alonzo Verge Jr. continued his torrid start to the year by scoring 8 of his game-high 25 points in the Warriors' fourth-quarter run.

"We just came out sluggish," Verge said. "We've got high expectations for our team so we know we can play better than how we were playing in the first half. We just came out and played better the rest of the game."

There were five ties and four lead changes in the second half before Glenbard West (4-5) surged to a 43-38 lead on a three-point play by Kalen Starkey and a bucket by Danny Walker. The Hilltoppers seemed to have the separation they needed with five minutes to play, but Willowbrook (5-4) responded with a 12-2 run started by Kyle Rushing's dunk.

Kevin Miller's 3-pointer tied it and Verge scored on the next possession to give the Warriors the lead for good. When Verge split a pair of free throws with 1:01 left, the Warriors held their biggest lead of 6 points.

"We just didn't defend well enough down the stretch when it mattered," said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder. "We needed to get a couple stops and they hit some big shots."

Alex Passi, who scored 13 points, twice hit 3-pointers to keep Glenbard West within 3 points. The Hilltoppers, however, struggled in their offense down the stretch without Justin Pierce, who scored a team-high 20 points before leaving with a finger injury with about three minutes left.

Starkey scored 10 points for Glenbard West while Chris Roycroft tallied 14 points for Willowbrook, which now has an inside track at finishing in first place in the Green Pool. The Warriors face St. Francis at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, followed by Glenbard West's game against Northridge Prep.

"Our team, they realize we can compete with everybody," said Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins. "We're probably not going to blow teams out. We're going to have to grind out our wins. We just have to get better and better with execution toward the end of the game."

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

Images: Willowbrook at Glenbard West, boys basketball

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