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Glenbrook North derails Prospect in Wheeling semifinals

The halftime run. It's a great way to jog to the finish.

On Tuesday, Prospect used a 13-0 run to close out the first half in its convincing win over Notre Dame.

On Wednesday, Prospect had the tables turned. Glenbrook North used a similar 13-0 run to help propel it to a 57-48 win over the Knights in the semifinals of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

"I thought our run was the difference in the game," said North coach Quin Hayes, whose team has played three games in the last two days.

"We struggled early against their defense. Once we settled down, I thought we did fine."

Prospect assistant coach Bobby Reibel, who was subbing for head coach Brad Rathe who is sidelined under COVID protocols, said that his team never gave up.

'"We battled," Reibel said. "We lost some guys early and the guys stepped up and got some baskets. We played some of the best defense we played this year, in spurts. But give them a ton of credit, they got to do what they wanted to do at times."

Glenbrook North (9-1), which is playing in its first Hardwood Classic, will meet district rival Glenbrook South in the title game on Thursday at 8:45 p.m. Glenbrook South beat Libertyville 60-43 in the other semifinal.

Prospect (7-5) will meet Libertyville in the third place game on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.

Prospect appeared to be in trouble early. Guard and leading scorer Owen Schneider went to the bench midway through the first quarter with his second foul.

Despite that, the Knights were able to power through and led 20-16 with just under 6 minutes left in the half.

That's when the Spartans exploded.

A putback by Brandon Gordon began the spurt. And when Gordon hit a layup four minutes later, Glenbrook North led 29-20. The teams then traded baskets as Glenbrook North led 31-22 at the half.

The Spartans opened the second half by scoring 6 unanswered points and their lead bulged at 37-22.

Prospect chipped away at the lead and cut the margin to 7 on three different occasions, with the final one coming with 1:28 to play. But that as close as Prospect would get.

"It was pretty physical out there tonight " said Prospect's Owen Walter, who had 7 points. "I'm just glad our team didn't back down and kept fighting through it. I know that our guys always play well together."

despite the loss, Reibel said that his team will be ready for the third-place game.

"I just told the kids that we will be ready," Reibel said. "This is a great tournament with a lot of good teams. To be playing for third is truly an honor."

Prospect was led by Alex Georgakas, who had 14 points, and Schneider, who had 13 points.

Glenbrook North was led by Josh Friedman, who had 14 points, and Ryan Cohen who had 13 points.

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