Riauba 3-pointer caps Glenbard South comeback

It may be the toughest shot in basketball. The one where you're wide open.

“I was kind of shaking as I was shooting, but I got it down,” said Glenbard South senior guard Povilas Riauba.

Riauba swished a 3-pointer from just right of center as the buzzer sounded on a 60-57 Raiders victory over No. 1 seed Burlington Central in Friday's Class 3A Glenbard South regional final in Glen Ellyn.

“It's probably the most exciting game I've ever played in my life, really,” Riauba said.

Thwarting Burlington Central's final shot opportunity, Glenbard South's Tim Marks knocked the ball off a Rockets player's knee and out of bounds to gain possession at the far baseline with 6.3 seconds left.

After a timeout Burlington Central's Joseph Ratzek smacked Kyle Carli's first inbounds pass out of bounds, but the Raiders kept the plan.

“We ad-libbed it a little bit there but still basically the same thing,” said coach Wade Hardtke, who directed Glenbard South's first regional title since 2009.

Carli inbounded to Riauba rushing toward the free-throw line. Riauba turned and drove, pressed tightly downcourt by Burlington Central's Michael Kalusa until Riauba shook loose for the open look.

“I knew he was overplaying me, so I just hit a reverse step and I knew that he wouldn't be near me,” said Riauba, whose 15 points joined Glenbard South's Billy Bair and Burlington Central's Ryan Fitzgerald for game honors.

“I knew I was wide open, I knew it was the game on the line. I knew exactly what was going on,” Riauba said.

“He's one of the best (shooters) we've got,” Hardtke said. “He was hot tonight, so we wanted him to have the ball and try to win it for us.”

No. 3 Glenbard South (19-9) rallied from a 50-41 deficit over the last 3:10 to advance to Tuesday's Class 3A Woodstock North sectional semifinal against a No. 6 seed, Belvidere, a 63-55 winner over Genoa-Kingston.

“That's usually closing time for us. When you win 26 basketball games you're usually pretty good at that part of it,” said Burlington Central 2003 graduate and coach Brett Porto, whose club finished 26-4 and set a program wins record.

“And just for whatever reason — a free throw here, a turnover here, missed rebound here, that we normally for the most part this year would capitalize on — we just didn't get that one break in the last couple minutes and Glenbard South kept fighting and took advantage at the end,” Porto said.

Bair initiated the comeback, which snapped an 11-0 Rockets run spanning the third and fourth quarters. The 6-foot-5 senior's consecutive open-floor steals led to his own dunk and a Riauba 3, and Bair added a tip-in and another inside basket from an offensive rebound and assist by Marks.

“We lost last year in the regional championship and none of us wanted to feel that way again,” Bair said.

Trailing 57-55 with 55.6 seconds to play, Riauba wrestled a steal when he and Jonathan Walker trapped a Burlington Central dribbler. Riauba was fouled and made two free throws to tie the score 57-57 with 41 seconds left. The Rockets committed five turnovers down the stretch after forcing Glenbard South into 19 the first 27 minutes.

“It's a tough way to end it tonight, but I'm happy with the season, I'm really happy with the team,” said Fitzgerald, headed to play at Wisconsin-Whitewater. “We all worked really hard this season, just couldn't get that one at the end there.”