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Glenbard North uses 3-point barrage to beat Leyden

The last few games there's been a sense of improvement with Glenbard North's boys basketball team.

The proof came Tuesday when the Panthers rained down a dozen 3-pointers on Leyden.

The perimeter barrage from five players helped Glenbard North notch its first win of the season with a 54-49 decision over the Eagles in second-round pool-play action from the Glenbard West Holiday Classic in Glen Ellyn.

"We played a great basketball game," said Panthers junior Nick LaVere. "We started off a little slow, but we picked up the slack. You've always got to fight. Never give up."

Glenbard North (1-8) led for most of the game - bursting ahead 29-19 on back-to-back second-quarter 3s by Mark Krzeminski - but Leyden (8-5) steadily rallied throughout the second half. An 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Domenic Aiello and a three-point play by Adam Braxton Jr., gave the Eagles a 45-42 lead with 4:24 left.

Just when the Eagles appeared to have all the momentum, John Bosco and LaVere answered with 3-pointers and LaVere added a free throw to move Glenbard North back ahead at 50-46. Marcos Herrera knocked down a 3-pointer for Leyden, but LaVere converted transition layups on consecutive possessions to seal the Panthers' first win.

LaVere scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we battled to get back in it, but at the end of the day they just made more plays than we did," said Leyden coach Bill Heisler. "We can't miss as many layups as we did, and then our execution down the stretch was bad, too."

Glenbard North began shredding Leyden's zone in the opening quarter when Sam Ledbetter, Brett Miller and LaVere combined for four 3-pointers. It helped counter Leyden's advantage in the post with DeAndre Williams, who scored 7 of his 13 points from the line. Braxton led the Eagles with 14 points.

Miller added 13 points off the bench for Glenbard North.

"It was a good response, especially the fourth quarter," said Panthers coach Joe Larson. "We had the lead in the fourth quarter last night and didn't take care of the basketball. We didn't do a very good job of it in this game either, fourth quarter. But we hit some big shots and made some big plays down the stretch."

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  Nick LaVere of Glenbard North takes a shot during the Glenbard North vs. Leyden at Glenbard West boys basketball tournament Tuesday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Jason Timmerhaus,left, of Leyden and Chamar Flanigan of Glenbard North vie for the ball during the Glenbard North vs. Leyden at Glenbard West boys basketball tournament Tuesday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
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