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Metea Valley bounces back with win vs. Glenbard West

After a rough outing and a medical scare to a key player last week, Metea Valley coach Matt Walpole wondered how his team would respond when Glenbard West came to town for a nonconference visit Tuesday.

What he found out early - and often - is that his Mustangs were more than ready to put last week's one-sided loss to Wheaton Warrenville South in the rearview mirror, even with Ethan Helwig sitting on the bench in street clothes.

Cory Adams and Holden Rank knocked down 3-pointers on the Mustangs' first two possessions and sparked the home team to a 17-4 lead on its way to a 58-46 victory over a Hilltoppers squad that had won six of its last seven games.

"I wasn't sure what we were going to get," Walpole said. "We got our brains beat in (last Thursday) and then we lose one of our key guys."

But there was little reason for concern as Rank connected on a trio 3s while scoring 11 points. The Mustangs surprised the Hilltoppers by taking a 36-20 lead at the half, and extending it to 51-27 after three quarters. Rank was one of three players to score in double figures as Metea Valley improved to 8-8.

"After a tough game against Wheaton Warrenville South, we kind of put it together in practice and worked hard," said Rank, a 5-foot-10 senior guard who finished with 15 points. "We worked as a team today and came out great. We just wanted to get ahead and keep the gas on and extend the lead as much as we could."

The hot shooting helped plenty, but it was Metea Valley's defense that played just as big a role in the victory. The Hilltoppers managed just seven points in the first quarter and again in the third.

"Our start was huge," Walpole said, "and so was the way the guys really worked together on defense. Our defense this year has been something we've been resting on. So without one of our key players we said we've got to get back to what we do and that's trusting our system and executing our stuff, and really working five guys as one on defense."

Forward Brad Hartje, who had 11 points and a pair of steals, was not all that surprised to see his team play so well. But he was sure glad to have the team's previous game become a thing of the past.

"We've been working in practice and it was nice to see, especially after that rough game with Wheaton South," he said. "It all starts on the defensive side of the ball, and we came out more intense than we have in a while. That really did everything for us. It's easy when you're getting turnovers and running the break."

Walpole said Helwig left the Wheaton Warrenville South game after experiencing chest pains and has undergone some medical tests but may be cleared to return to action soon.

For Glenbard West (10-6), Tuesday's results were a disappointing surprise after the team's strong play of late. Evan Taylor led the way with 12 points, but 9 came in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand.

"They were much tougher than we were tonight. They made things difficult on us and we didn't make anything difficult for them," Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder said. "I'm surprised we didn't play well. We've had some nice wins lately so to come out flat like this is surprising."

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