York holds Glenbard West in check

After holding Glenbard West to only 34 points for 31-plus minutes, you'd think York's basketball team had done its job defensively.

Not quite yet.

It took one last defensive stand in the waning seconds for the Dukes to pull out Saturday's grueling 37-34 West Suburban Silver victory in Glen Ellyn.

The difference came on two possessions in the final two minutes after Glenbard West (9-12, 4-5) seized a 34-32 lead on a 3-pointer by Alex Passi and a bucket by Kalen Starkey. Jayvon Thomas knocked down a pair of free throws for the Dukes (14-9, 4-4) to tie the game with 1:47 left, and then Rich George hit a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to provide the winning margin.

Glenbard West's last-second 3-point attempt went off the mark to preserve the win for York.

"In the locker room coach was telling us we had to come out with a lot of intensity to still be in the conference race," Thomas said. "I feel like we just came out more intense and wanted to win the game."

Thomas scored a game-high 19 points for the Dukes and seemed to be the only player on the court able to consistently put the ball through the net. In fact Starkey was the only other player to reach double-figure scoring with 10 points.

Both teams had opportunities to pull away but didn't. York led 29-23 at the end of the third quarter, but Glenbard West went back ahead with an 11-3 run capped by Starkey's basket and the 34-32 advantage.

The Dukes held the Hilltoppers scoreless for the last 1:50 of the game to end Glenbard West's three-game Silver winning streak.

"It was there for the taking, and we didn't take it," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "We had too many possessions where we didn't get a good look. We had trouble getting the ball inside, and a lot of that had to do with them. They're awfully good with the zone, but we didn't do a very good job of attacking it."

There were six ties and seven lead changes, including George's game-winning 3-pointer. The Dukes committed only 6 turnovers.

"Every time we play each other it's a pretty tight game," said York coach Vince Doran. "Fortunately we were able to defend just enough at the end to hold them off."

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