Glenbard South rides good start to win

As the Glenbard South boys basketball team began Class 3A Marmion regional action Wednesday, senior center Charlie Bair made all four of his shots in the first quarter.

Senior Billy Powers made all five of his shots in the first half.

"That was one of the best starts we've gotten off to. We had a lot of people (contributing)," Powers said. "We were getting the ball in to Charlie. We were hitting our outside shots. I thought we came out really well."

The Raiders rode that strong start and a third-quarter surge to defeat St. Francis 72-49 in the regional semifinal in Aurora.

Glenbard South (13-14), the No. 4 seed in its half of the Genoa-Kingston sectional bracket, plays for the regional title at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 1 Burlington Central (26-4) in a rematch of last year's final won by the Raiders 60-57.

"I thought our three seniors (starting) really stepped up and showed our young guys the way, what being part of the tournament's all about," Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke said.

Bair finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Powers, senior Peter Jeske and junior Brandon Whiteside each had 12 points, and sophomore reserve Tavion Keith added 8.

For No. 6 St. Francis (12-17), juniors Andrew Harvey and reserve George Hamman each had 12 points and junior Matthew Cooney 10. Hamman provided 4 of his team's eight 3-pointers.

At halftime the Raiders led 35-26. They hit 15 of 26 shots and outrebounded the Spartans 16-10 with 7 offensive boards.

"We knew we were going to be bigger than them. We were trying to pound inside. When they were doubling down, we'd kick it out," Bair said.

"All of (Powers') points at the beginning were off of offensive rebounds. He was coming on strong, aggressive. That's what we needed. That's a big reason we got the W."

The Spartans, however, hung tough with help from their strong outside shooting.

"They can shoot the heck out of the ball and we knew it wasn't over," Hardtke said.

Early in the third quarter, St. Francis closed to 38-32 but missed a 3 to cut the gap in half.

Glenbard South responded with a 10-0 run with 4 points apiece from Jeske and Whiteside. The Raiders led 50-36 by the end of the period and by at least 9 points throughout the fourth quarter.

"They're a good team and they played well. We can't get down that much," said St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer, who started no seniors. "Bair's a tough cover. It starts with him. I thought we had a few breakdowns early on that we could have avoided, but give them credit."

Burlington Central is riding a seven-game winning streak and has equaled the single-season school record for victories set by last year's 26-4 squad.

In 2016 the Raiders reached the sectional finals as a No. 3 seed. They won the regional final over the top-seeded Rockets on a last-second three after overcoming a late 8-point deficit.

"I can't wait. I know they're going to be out to get revenge on us so we've got to be ready," Bair said.

"Last year was incredible," Powers added. "I know they'll be coming back hungry."

St. Francis very soon could be reaping the benefits of its extremely young lineup. The Spartans' nine players through the first three quarters included a sophomore and freshman and just two seniors.

"Our kids always play hard and when we play hard good things happen. We have to do that stuff every single time," Dwyer said.

"Overall I was proud of our season. Ninety-five percent of our offense is coming back next year. It's hard to teach experience but we're making a big point that we get physically stronger and that's being committed to the weight room and doing the little things."