Hardtke's 25 points paces Glenbard South over Elgin
Things have changed in the weeks since Glenbard South's boys basketball team beat Elgin by 32 points.
It appeared they'd changed quite a bit when the visiting Maroons led Glenbard South after one quarter. The Raiders calmed down and behind a personal-best scoring night from Cole Hardtke, Glenbard South won the Upstate Eight Conference game 58-43 in Glen Ellyn.
"They didn't have two starters that game, so we just kind of forgot about that one and just said, if we play our game we'll be fine," said Hardtke, the 6-foot-4 senior forward who scored 25 points with 10 rebounds, 6 of them in the fourth quarter.
"That first game, we got a new system, a lot of new players, so I think it showed, we've grown," said Elgin's first-year coach, David Hess. "We've got guys that are getting better and figuring things out, and what we talked about is we're playing half to three-quarters of a game now. The push is to play that full 32 minutes."
Xavier Bonds, who missed the first meeting along with Maroons point guard Kamarr Banks, scored 6 points with 2 steals in the first quarter as Elgin (5-15, 2-9) led 15-11 after one quarter. Senior guard Trey Yarber added 7 points as the Maroons forced Glenbard South into 6 turnovers.
"Kudos to Elgin," said Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke, father to Cole and also sophomore guard Cade Hardtke, the Raiders' second man off the bench.
"We weren't taking care of the ball in the first quarter and then we settled in," Wade Hardtke said. "But that's a credit to them and their defense. They're quick, they're athletic and they were getting into passing lanes."
Glenbard South (14-4, 8-2) has seen it all, though. Even with center Ryan Harrington plagued by fouls after a strong, 5-point first quarter, seniors like guards Kevin Enright, Tavion Keith and Nick Plaso and forwards Cole Hardtke and Tommy Powers bring poise under pressure.
Countering Elgin's zone defense, often extended full court, the Raiders started the second quarter on an 11-3 run. Hardtke sealed the quarter with a three-point play, a 3-pointer and a free throw for a 32-21 halftime lead.
"We came out, we weren't really doing much, and then our guards got us settled," Cole Hardtke said. "We calmed down, Kevin got us open shots, got us layups. Then we picked up the pressure and from there was really no looking back. It was fun."
Despite shooting 5 of 21 in the third quarter, Glenbard South led 43-31 after three quarters, and Cole Hardtke's 8-point fourth quarter helped build a 53-37 lead with three minutes left to play.
Powers scored 8 points with 7 rebounds. Yarber scored 14 and Bonds 11 for Elgin, which made strides since that Dec. 7 meeting.
"We got blown out the first time. To only fall away with a 15-point loss, it's always good to see improvement, see that we're getting better, seeing that we can stick to what we're supposed to do," said Maroons sophomore forward Jeffery Lomax.