Glenbard South strikes it rich against Fenton with Powers-ball
After ending 2017 on a three-game losing streak, Glenbard South's boys basketball team was looking for a spark to start 2018.
Tommy Powers provided one Friday night.
The junior forward came off the bench late in the first quarter and scored all 7 of his points during a 15-2 run and the host Raiders went on to beat Fenton 46-34 in a Metro Suburban Blue game in Glen Ellyn.
"It felt nice to get something going offensively," Powers said. "We moved the ball around well and I got some opportunities to get some nice looks up."
The Raiders (6-9, 3-3) led 6-3 when Powers scored on a putback with 53 seconds left in the first quarter. The basket, and the method in which it was scored, was a sign of things to come.
Powers also sank a 3-pointer off a feed from fellow reserve Matt LaMontagna and later rebounded a Brandon Whiteside miss and scored again to make it 14-5. He averages about 10 minutes per game but would like more and may get it if he keeps this up.
"He's been playing very well," Whiteside said. "He can shoot the ball when he's open and he can play good defense. He played well today."
Powers also grabbed 4 rebounds, tying him with Whiteside, Spencer Pyle and Ryan Harrington for team-high honors. That quartet accounted for 10 of Glenbard South's 13 offensive rebounds, part of a larger effort that saw the Raiders outrebound Fenton 27-16.
"We just gave up too many second-chance points," Fenton coach Chaz Taft said. "Offensive glass we just got beat up on tonight.
"We get them to shoot quick with some of the stuff we're doing defensively. We just couldn't come up with the rebound."
Even so, the Bison (2-12, 0-5) made a game of it, scoring the first 7 points of the third quarter to pull within 25-20 when Jeff Andrews made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup.
Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke called a timeout and order soon was restored. Whiteside, who paced the Raiders with 12 points, sank an 18-foot jumper and scored on a drive. The senior had 6 points during a 10-2 run that boosted the lead back up to 35-22.
"We wanted to get off to a better start and (Hardtke) just re-emphasized that," Whiteside said. "We trapped their ball screens to make them handle pressure. We knew that they couldn't dribble that well, so we wanted to pressure them and make them play faster than they wanted to."
The strategy worked. Senior forward Amari Reed sank 3 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points for the Bison, but nobody else found their rhythm.
Hardtke said that was due in part to the play of guard Tavion Keith, who hounded Fenton's guards and added 6 points and 2 assists.
Then there was the play of Powers, who provided an added bonus.
"Tommy came in and gave us some great minutes on both ends of the floor," Hardtke said. "There's no doubt he can score and I thought he did a nice job of staying aggressive tonight."
Powers was just pleased the Raiders got in the win column to start the new year.
"It felt good," he said. "We had a couple close losses in the (Glenbard West) tournament, so it feels nice to get something going here."