Glenbard West routs Simeon in playoff tuneup
Before Friday's tipoff, Simeon senior point guard Aviyon Morris attempted to send a subtle message to Glenbard West.
With the Hilltoppers' starting five gathered together in a tight circle, just seconds before the opening jump ball, Morris hovered around the area in order to make his presence known.
That brief encounter was the last time the Wolverines would be a nuisance to the Hilltoppers.
Glenbard West scored the first eight points to cruise to a 60-32 rout over Simeon in the third game of the Proviso West Classic. The victory marked a rare double-double for a suburban school, with the Hilltoppers claiming wins over Young and Simeon.
Glenbard West senior Bobby Durkin led all scorers with 19 points, Braden Huff chipped in with 14 points and 4 blocks and Ryan Renfro added 8 points and 13 rebounds. Paxton Warden tallied with 13 points.
Nicholas Robinson scored 13 points and Wesley Rubin added 7 for the Wolverines.
Durkin, who made four 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds, punctuated a sluggish and physical game with a breakaway dunk with just under four minutes left in regulation to earn MVP honors for the game.
"We knew Simeon is a great team, so it was great to show our potential," Durkin said. "They have a lot of tough defenders, so us jumping out to a quick lead helped our confidence to know we can play with them."
Despite playing just two games in the last 13 days, the Hilltoppers (30-1) capped off a historic regular season by putting to rest any doubt about their national and state rankings.
Simeon coach Rob Smith, who has won six state titles, admitted he came away impressed with Glenbard West.
"They're one of the Top 25 teams in the county, and you can't get behind," Smith said. "They look like a state champion to me. I'm glad I don't have to play them again ... Their kids have been playing together since third grade. That's too hard. They're really good."
The Hilltoppers jumped out to leads of 13-2, 17-4 and 22-5 to wipe away any residue from their buzzer-beating loss to Sierra Canyon on Feb. 5. The Hilltoppers overcame a sluggish first-half effort by Pierce and Huff to gain a signature victory over the state powerhouse Wolverines. Pierce was held scoreless and Huff had nine points, but the Hilltoppers still led 28-13 at halftime.
"We knew it was going to be a physical game coming in," Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said. "We scheduled this game to challenge ourselves with that physicality and maybe put us in a position we felt uncomfortable. We absorbed the contact and physicality and executed down the stretch."
The Wolverines put a minor scare into the Hilltoppers, scoring the first four points of the second half to lower the margin to 28-17, but Huff's basket ignited a 7-0 run to five some more breathing room. Pierce, a Princeton recruit, scored his first basket on a lay-in off the glass to increase the lead to 37-21 with 1:38 remaining in the third.
Simeon's quickness and on-ball pressure did rattle the Hilltoppers at times, causing some ugly possessions and turnovers.
The Wolverines, played without their top three scorers.
Now with the regular season in their rear view window, the Hilltoppers can begin their quest to win their first state championship, when they open up the 4A playoffs against Wheaton North or West Chicago on Wednesday in a Glenbard West regional semifinal.
"It was a fun game, right from the start," Renfro said. "I knew they would be a physical team ... I just tried to lower my shoulder and go for every board I could. Luckily, my teammates were taking great shots underneath, which gave me great opportunities for rebounds."
On the same court where soon-to-be Duke coach Jon Scheyer scored 21 points in 75 seconds, the Hilltoppers, who won the West Suburban Silver for just the fourth time in the last 50 years, easily defeated a program with three players in the NBA, including former MVP Derrick Rose.
The Wolverines (24-5) have won seven state titles, including six championships and two runner-up finishes Smith since 2005. In the high school basketball world, the Wolverines are considered royalty in the state of Illinois, and a nationally recognized program.
But Simeon couldn't penetrate Glenbard West's 1-3-1 zone defense, not attempting a shot until Jalen Griffith's lay-in at the 5:35 mark of the first quarter.
"We found a way to win and extend our lead," Opoka said. "Our half-court defense is getting so much better, and our rotations are getting so crisp. We limit dribble-penetration, which is really making us play defense at a high level."
The Wolverines, set to compete in Class 3A next week for the first time since 2007-08, concluded the regular season on an ominous note, losing for the third time in their last four game. The Hilltoppers, though, have made a habit of making quality teams look average, and the depleted Wolverines weren't any different. The Wolverines badly missed the presence of Miles Rubin (back), who's averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game.
"(Glenbard West) is the best team, better than all of us," Smith said. "I thought we were going to play a better game ... Their length was huge. We haven't seen anything like that ... Watching that length on film and seeing it up close is a totally different thing."