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Glenbard South answers alarm, beats Glenbard North

Taking a timeout during a sluggish first half against Glenbard North, Glenbard South basketball coach Wade Hardtke implored his boys to "wake up."

The alarm rang in the second half.

Overcoming a game Panthers squad, Glenbard South turned up the defense, hit the open man and marched to the foul line to win 53-44 on Saturday at the 17th Glenbard West Holiday Classic.

"I think in the second half we moved the ball better and we attacked the gaps better, because we really were just standing around the 3-point line in the first half and we started attacking more. That opened up the lane for us and (got) easier buckets for us," said Raiders guard Tavion Keith, who grabbed 3 of his 5 steals and scored 12 of his game-high 15 points in a 22-point fourth quarter.

Before Glenbard South (7-2) awakened, Glenbard North (1-9) frustrated the taller Raiders with a 1-2-2 zone defense.

Active guards Rory Hills, Kobie Jamison and Jordan McQuarter also paced a 36-25 rebounding advantage for the game, Hills with 11 to tie Glenbard South's 6-foot-8 Ryan Harrington in that facet.

"I (liked) our mental frame of mind coming into the ballgame, our energy level, knowing the assignments we needed to make. Our focus was there and it showed in that first half," said Panthers coach Joe Larson.

Six-foot-4 sophomore Jerry Abushanab's 3 gave the Panthers a 20-13 second-quarter lead. A McQuarter 3 made it 27-17 at halftime.

The Raiders then entered attack mode. Guards Keith and Kevin Enright found Harrington in the lane and forwards Cole Hardtke and Tommy Powers down low. Man-to-man defense forced 9 third-quarter turnovers with 3 steals by Powers. Glenbard South also blocked 4 shots to pull within 33-31 after three quarters.

"We came out a little stagnant in the first half and we just wanted to really be more assertive coming out in the second half," said Powers, who scored 11 points to Hardtke's 14, and 8 for Harrington with 4 blocks.

Two Hardtke free throws and lane jumpers by Harrington and Keith gave Glenbard South its first lead, 37-33, at 6:03 of the fourth quarter.

Jaheim Edmond tied it again 37-37, but two Hardtke baskets and a Keith 3 from Harrington's kickout pass gave the Raiders a 44-40 lead.

Keith's fast hands and his team's 7-of-12 fourth-quarter foul shooting aided a 7-2 run in the last 2:10. Overall, Glenbard South made 17 of 28 free throws to Glenbard North's 1 of 5.

McQuarter and Edmond scored 10 points apiece. Abushanab scored 9 points and took three charges.

"The first half, I learned that if you come out very strong, you can come out with a commanding lead," Abushanab said. "The second half, something I can learn is we need to be more patient and be more vocal as a team and finish our games."

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