Glenbard East doesn't relax against West Chicago
The emphasis for Glenbard East's boys basketball team was plain.
"To not let up," said Rams senior guard Deon Cook.
"It's a Tuesday, a slow day, so we have to just keep that same intensity the whole game," he said.
Despite Rams leading scorer DaRon Hall leaving the game with a tweak in the back after getting run over on a second-quarter shot attempt, Glenbard East showed that intensity in a 63-33 win over Upstate Eight Conference host West Chicago.
"Coach (Scott Miller) told us to play like it's a regional, so that's how we came out and played this game," said Cook, who doubled his season average with 6 steals and scored a game-high 13 points.
Playoff ramifications were on their mind, plus the UEC standings. They need help, but Glenbard East (19-8, 12-4) entered Tuesday two games behind conference co-leaders Glenbard South and East Aurora with three games left.
"We told our guys as far as conference we've just got to take care of what we can control, win out and let other teams do what they do," said retiring coach Miller, who before the game received a special signed basketball from West Chicago coach Bill Recchia.
"Probably the biggest thing, though, is tonight is the last game before seeding for the sectionals. We wanted to finish out strong," Miller said.
The Rams began by forcing 6 turnovers in the first 6:07 while taking a 13-0 lead. Starting with Hall's backdoor lay-in assisted by Joe Hamilton, Glenbard East added baskets by Hamilton, Tyrese Buffkin and two by LaDonus Rogers before West Chicago broke the ice on Marque Phillips' jumper with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
"First time I can say this year that we did not step up to the challenge that was in front of us," Recchia said. "That's very unlike the team that I've coached this entire year. We know that's all fixable for us."
Making the extra pass and on the way to forcing 24 turnovers on the night, Glenbard East led 16-5 after one quarter and 35-14 at halftime.
West Chicago (4-24, 0-16) switched to a zone from man-to-man defense to start the second half and it seemed to provide a lift. Then Rogers keyed a 10-0 Rams run to help his team to a 47-25 lead after three quarters.
Rogers and Jack Rivas both scored 10 points for Glenbard East. Dion Harris added 8 points in one of the senior's first few games back since undergoing meniscus surgery in November.
Christian Krahenbuhl led the Wildcats with 8 points, with Sean Appleton scoring 6 on a pair of 3s that thrilled the typically strong West Chicago student section.
"We knew we just couldn't give up," Krahenbuhl said of the strong third-quarter start. "We fell down, but we knew we had to keep on going and just have a short memory and keep fighting."