Downers North tops Glenbard West in another hard-fought WSC Silver battle

With the talent in boys basketball the West Suburban Silver has, every game seems to turn into an all-out war.

Case in point was Friday's tilt between red-hot Downers Grove North and Glenbard West, always tough, especially at home.

The Trojans won 52-40, but the game - especially in the third quarter - was much closer than the final score indicated.

Downers North owned a 38-29 lead midway through the third, but a smothering Glenbard West perimeter defense prevented the Trojans from scoring the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers used a 7-0 run to close the period.

Don't look now, but suddenly it's a two-point game, 38-36.

The Trojans (24-3, 9-2) answered with a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter to put the game away, but that's really not the point.

Why is every team in the Silver a candidate to go deep in the IHSA playoffs?

"I think you've got coaches that care, communities that care, from a very young age, and kids that understand what it takes to be successful and put in all the time and work," Downers North coach Jim Thomas said. "I think you've got a lot of teams with a lot of good players and coaches that are trying to put their kids in the best position to be successful."

Elsewhere in Biester Gym, coach Jason Opoka of Glenbard West (17-10, 6-4) agreed wholeheartedly with Thomas regarding the question of the hour.

"You have to be," Opoka said. "This conference has some of the best coaches in general in the state of Illinois, and the preparation and the attention to detail with every coach puts in in the West Suburban Silver is intense. So you have to be ready to play, you have to match physicality and you have to be mentally prepared."

And how. It also helps if you can hit on 11 3-pointers like Downers North did, including four in the first half from senior Finn Kramper, who came off the bench to lead his team with 14 points.

Then there's junior guard Jack Stanton, who led off that 12-2 fourth-quarter run with a 3-ball up top, then added in succession a jumper and a layup off a full-court touchdown pass.

Stanton and Kramper have their own opinion about why the Silver is so tough.

"I think just the scouting that goes into it," said Stanton, who finished with 10 points. "The legacies that every single team in our conference has ... Hinsdale Central, LT, Glenbard. It upholds that standard."

Added Kramper: "Teams have a rivalry, too, so it's like, Oh yeah, we've got to beat this team."

Glenbard West senior forward Logan Brown logged a double-double - 10 points, 10 rebounds.

"I just think we have lots of preparation, at our school especially," Brown said. "Coach O has a big focus on the weight room, especially as we become varsity basketball players. So getting faster, stronger and more physical really helps in this league, because it's a war every night."