Addison Trail learns about Glenbard North's Abushanab

Here's a name you should probably get to know if you're a fan of suburban Chicago boys basketball, and especially the DuKane Conference: Jerry Abushanab.

The slim, 6-foot-5 Glenbard North junior appears to be on his way to making a name for himself. Case in point: He recorded a double-double - 16 points, 10 rebounds - in Glenbard North's 58-49 nonconference win over Addison Trail on Tuesday.

He was one of four Panthers to score in double figures to help them improve to 2-4 on the young season. Addison Trail senior guard Anthony Carlson led all scorers with 24 points.

"He had a really good ballgame tonight," Glenbard North coach Joe Larson said of Abushanab. "He does so many things for us defensively. I think that goes unnoticed at times, but he did a really good job on (Carlson) second half, trying not to let him catch it. But offensively, his game will come."

It looks like it already has. Entering the second quarter with the score knotted 8-8, it was Abushanab nailing a 3-pointer from the left arc. After a layup in the lane by another junior, guard Matt Murray, Abushanab took off on a fastbreak layup. All that was part of a 10-0 run.

But it was the fourth quarter when Abushanab, and really the rest of the Panthers, shone. Entering the period down 35-34, he connected on a three-point play with 7:46 to go. After a pair of Murray 3-pointers, he added a layup off a steal that extended Glenbard North's lead to 47-37. Finally, he dropped a pair of free throws with a little over a minute to go to salt away the win.

"It was definitely a confidence booster," he said. "I was kind of struggling the last few games. It was nice coming in and having a little more confidence my shot coming in, and it came from my teammates and my coaches."

Murray, junior forward Jake Bonnema and senior guard Rory Hills complemented Abushanab by each scoring in double digits. Murray's back-to-back 3s came from the right arc and the left corner with 6:36 and 5:40 to go, respectively.

Addison Trail's Carlson counts basketball his third sport, behind football and baseball, but you'd be hard-pressed to realize that. He hit four 3-pointers - two apiece in each half - and scored 10 in the third quarter alone. His two free throws that ended the third quarter gave the Blazers a 35-34 lead.

"Right now we're struggling to consistently score points, we've been struggling with pressure all year," Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons said. "A.J.'s shooting is obviously a weapon we have to utilize, and find a way every night to make sure he gets touches, because as the season wears on, he's going to be the focus of a lot of defenses."

Added Carlson: "I think we have to develop some things. We're really young this year. We've got a lot of things to learn."

Senior guard Alex Conrad added 12 points for the Blazers (2-5). Junior forward Robert Roszkiewicz added 7 points and 7 rebounds.