Glenbard West gets shots to fall, defeats Addison Trail
It's been a while since Glenbard West was locked a tight game.
It's also been a while since the Hilltoppers shot this well in a game.
That shooting - 11 3-pointers from five players - allowed Glenbard West's boys basketball team to eventually pull away to Wednesday's 58-43 victory over Addison Trail in pool play at the Glenbard West Holiday Classic in Glen Ellyn.
Addison Trail took its final lead early in the third quarter before the Hilltoppers responded with a barrage of 3s to build a 9-point advantage heading to the final period.
"It really helps when everyone's shooting like that," said Hilltoppers senior guard Carter Lindstrom. "I think this is our fifth win in a row now, so we're playing pretty well. Whether it's our Thanksgiving tournament or this tournament or any other game, we want to make sure we play well at home."
Wednesday's win was much closer than Glenbard West's previous two by a combined 58 points. All 10 wins for the Hilltoppers (10-2), though, have been by double digits.
As tough as it was to get to that point against Addison Trail (7-6), they got it done with a 7-2 spurt to start the fourth quarter. It began with a Braden Huff 3-pointer, adding to the list of 3s by Griffin Foster, Lindstrom, Colin Baker and Evan Taylor, who made six 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point night with 9 rebounds.
"Ev shot pretty well tonight, but we're a pretty good shooting team overall," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "I think we settled for some shots, especially in the second quarter. Doesn't mean they were terrible shots, I just think we had some opportunities to attack the rim or get a post touch. At the same time though, we shot pretty well in the first quarter, so that's just how it goes sometimes."
Addison Trail trailed by as many as 7 points in the first half but kept battling. J.T. Daniels made a 3-pointer near the end of the first half and Adem Mehmeti scored twice to briefly put the Blazers ahead in the third quarter.
Daniels led Addison Trail with 15 points while Justin Werderitch scored 8 of his 10 in the second quarter off the bench. Caden Phillips had 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Hilltoppers.
"You come in knowing they've got a group who can shoot it, but it's tough to overcome when Taylor shoots it like he did," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "We had a lot of energy in the first half. I don't know if it was a 'days off fatigue' or something, but we just didn't have the same passion in the second half."
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