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Glenbard South keeps pace in UEC with win vs. Bartlett

With the crowded Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball race set to be decided in the next few weeks, Glenbard South has put itself in prime position.

Grinding out victories in six of their past seven games heading into Tuesday, the Raiders stayed hot and moved into first place with a 60-56 victory over Bartlett in Glen Ellyn.

"We are finding ways to win," said Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke, whose team was coming off an overtime win against Fenton and a 3-point decision over Kaneland. "That part you have to keep taking. It is not always pretty, but we are finding ways to get on the right side."

For the youthful Hawks (6-12, 3-5), it has been the exact opposite story. All five league losses have been by 7 points or less.

"This has been our season," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We battled on a tough floor against a real good opponent. We are right there. Ideally, we'd like to turn the corner and be on the other side of these close games. We are playing good basketball, we just aren't playing consistent enough basketball to beat good teams like a Glenbard South."

The back-and-forth affair came down to the closing minutes after a Bartlett basket by Nicholas Bucaro knotted the score at 51 with 3:20 left.

A layup by Yazan Blan gave Glenbard South the lead for good with less than two minutes remaining, and the Raiders made five free throws near the end to seal it.

"We are just sticking with what we are doing," said Glenbard South senior Brandon Malone, who tied for game-high honors with 15 points. "Everyone is sharing the ball, we are playing team basketball and we are finding ways to pull it out.

"This conference is a really good conference and every team is not a cakewalk. We just have to stick with what we do, move the ball and continue to play as a team.

Aryton Temcio contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds for Glenbard South (14-4, 8-2), and Jacob Folkerts also made it into double figures with 11.

The Raiders, now a half-game ahead of Glenbard East in the UEC after the Rams lost to Larkin on Tuesday, jumped out to a 15-5 advantage before being outscored 23-12 in the second quarter.

Conrad Luczynski topped Bartlett with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Ian Smith came off the bench to score 13, and George Betevis knocked down four 3-pointers for 12 points.

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