Glenbard West dispatches Downers Grove South
If there's any debate regarding the best boys basketball team in the West Suburban Conference, Glenbard West put up a mighty good argument on Wednesday.
Behind Justin Pierce's 31 points and 10 rebounds, the Hilltoppers rolled to a 64-47 victory at Downers Grove South in a crossover showdown between the champions of the WSC Silver and Gold divisions.
In addition to going 10-2 in Silver competition, Glenbard West (23-3) went 3-0 against the Gold during the regular season.
"Winning the West Suburban Silver was a big goal for us, and we won that," Pierce said. "And then we thought we might as well win the overall West Suburban Conference. That was our motivation going into this game."
Glenbard West - conference champion for the first time in 43 years - closed the first half on a 12-3 run featuring a pair of Pierce dunks and a 3-pointer from Connor O'Shea, who knocked down four 3s on his way to 14 points.
Trailing 28-17 at the break, Downers South (20-9) never pulled closer than 8 points away in the second half. Not only that but Glenbard West didn't allow the Mustangs to string together consecutive baskets until the game's final minute.
"This team (Downers South) can score a lot of points in a hurry, so whatever we were up at halftime it was by no means a safe lead," said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder. "We felt we needed to start fast that third quarter and keep getting stops."
Downers South stayed close early while denying Pierce a first-quarter field goal, but then the William & Mary-bound senior forward scored 13 second-quarter points as the Hilltoppers gradually extended their lead.
Alex Passi battled foul trouble the entire game but still finished with 11 points for Glenbard West.
Denis Alibegovic scored 7 of his team-high 12 points in the first quarter for Downers South while T.J. Clifford added 10 points for the Mustangs.
"This is the last regular-season game before the regional and I thought we showed well tonight," Pierce said. "If we play like this, we're going to be a dangerous team."
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