Glenbard West hands Downers Grove North 1st loss
As good as Evan Taylor is - and he's very good - Glenbard West's boys basketball team knows it needs more to compete in the West Suburban Silver Conference.
The Hilltoppers sure got it on Friday.
Carter Lindstrom and Caden Phillips combined for 40 points in Glenbard West's 65-51 victory over previously unbeaten Downers Grove North in Glen Ellyn, perfectly complementing the 13 points and 15 rebounds by Southern Illinois-bound Taylor, who notched his 1,000th point in the win.
Phillips had a particular bounce in his step, motivated by "Shellady Strong" night in honor of his uncle Mark Shellady's battle against cancer. The 6-foot-6 senior had 19 points, 9 rebounds and two thunderous fourth-quarter dunks that helped seal it.
"It was a little emotional but it gave me something extra to play this one for him and his family," said Phillips, whose cousins and fellow Glenbard West students were in attendance. "They're a huge part of who I am. We wanted to make sure we went out and got the win for them.
"We knew we had to lock up defensively and make plays on offense," Phillips said. "Against a team that good, we knew we had to come out full force."
Glenbard West (7-2, 1-1) led wire-to-wire after early buckets by Griffin Foster and Lindstrom, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. Downers North (7-1, 2-1) struggled to recover from poor 3-point shooting - 2 of 20 in the first half and 6 of 36 for the game.
"I felt like we were getting some shots we wanted, especially in the first half," said Downers North coach Jim Thomas. "Those are guys we feel comfortable shooting it, but it just wasn't their night. When you live and die by the three like we did, that's what happens."
The Trojans' biggest deficit was 16 points in the first half, and they spent the entire second half trying to play catch-up. They pulled within 47-42 three minutes into the fourth quarter but Glenbard West answered with a 6-0 run, capped by a Phillips dunk on a putback.
Connor Ilyavi was the only consistent perimeter threat for Downers North, scoring all 12 of his points on 3-pointers. The Trojans, playing without injured Scott Jakobsze, received 12 points from Collin Reed, 10 points from Sema'j Henderson and 9 points from Trey Boston.
"We hit a couple shots early, and that really helped to score first," said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder. "It's a nice win for us and I'm really excited for Caden. This is our league. Every game is so competitive and we beat each other up. It means a lot because every game is a battle."
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