Glenbard North picks up the defense against Addison Trail
Glenbard North's boys basketball team knew it needed to play good defense to beat Addison Trail.
Senior guard Rory Hills took that message to another level.
The Panthers buckled down especially in the fourth quarter of Monday's 44-36 victory in the Class 4A Lake Park regional quarterfinals in Roselle.
Hills was tasked with shadowing explosive Blazers senior guard A.J. Carlson and held him to 6 points, about 11 points under his season average. With the other cogs of the defense also doing their jobs, an 11-1 run in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter turned a 27-26 deficit into a 38-28 lead for Glenbard North.
"Defense, I take pride in it," Hills said. "I had to really lock in and do what I had to do for my team. And that was play defense on him and win the game. Last year we had a play-in game as well. We lost because of defense. So we really took pride during the week."
Seventeenth-seeded Addison Trail (5-26) led by 7 points in the second quarter and by 6 points in the third, but each time No. 16 Glenbard North (7-25) rallied by taking advantage of its size inside. Six-foot-four Jacob Bonnema led all scorers with 15 points while 6-5 Jake Cicero added 6 points.
More than anything, though, Glenbard North's defense began to frustrate the Blazers into turnovers - 8 of their 20 in the fourth quarter - and tough shots. Addison Trail made only 2 of 11 fourth-quarter field-goal attempts.
"When we shoot like that it's going to be tough unless we're really on point defensively," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "But it's a credit to our guys for buying in all year. I'm proud of them for battling."
Alex Conrad led Addison Trail with 11 points, while Jacob Daniels scored 10 points off the bench.
Tuesday's regional semifinal foe is a familiar one for the Panthers - top-seeded Lake Park (22-8), which beat Glenbard North twice in DuKane Conference play. Game time is 6 p.m. followed by Hinsdale Central-Downers Grove North in the second semifinal.
"We know Lake Park really well, and they're a very good team," said Panthers coach Joe Larson. "They're the No. 1 seed for a reason. We have to bring our 'A' game to beat them. We'll be ready."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit