LT Sports Roundup: Boys, Girls Basketball Foiled by Glenbard West [VIDEO]

The Lyons Township boys basketball team has made tremendous strides to climb back from a 1-8 start.

On Saturday, the Lions nearly pulled off their most important comeback from a slow start in a game this season after scoring just one point in the second quarter and seven points for the entire first half at Glenbard West.

But even after taking a one-point lead late in the third quarter, the Lions struggled in the fourth quarter and suffered a 60-36 setback in the battle for second place in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division.

LT (8-10, 4-3 in Silver) is now two games behind first-place Oak Park-River Forest (12-4, 5-1), which only has lost to the Lions. 

The loss snapped LT’s six-game winning streak, which included four straight conference victories. The Lions lost their Silver opener to Glenbard West 59-46 Dec. 9 in La Grange.

“This game was uncharacteristic of how we’ve played the last 10 games. We’ve played a lot better than we did tonight, and Glenbard probably had a lot to do with that,” LT coach Tom Sloan said.

“The final score doesn’t tell you how close the game was for most of the game, but Glenbard’s very good and we’re hoping we get another chance at them in the sectional.” 

LT’s David Reed had 10 points, including two three-pointers, followed by Kenneth Smith (7 points, 4 rebounds), Matt Robare (7 points, 3 rebounds), Chris Antalek (6 points, 5 rebounds) and Chris O’Reilly (4 rebounds).

The Lions took their only lead at 22-21 in the third quarter on a basket by Antalek but the Hilltoppers (13-3, 5-2) were back in front 30-28 entering the fourth quarter despite a three-pointer from LT’s Jarryd Heath with 10 seconds left in the period.

LT closed to 32-30 on Smith’s driving basket with 7:05 to play but then had just two free throws over nearly the next four minutes as the Hilltoppers opened a 45-32 advantage with 3:50 left.

“We made a lot of bad decisions with the ball, but if you told me with six minutes left to go, we’d be down 32-30 after we scored seven points in the first half, we were in a pretty good position there,” Sloan said. 

Significantly taller Glenbard West played a 2-3 zone and the Lions couldn’t exploit it with their usually strong outside shooting. The Lions were 12-for-42 from the field (29 percent), including 4-for-22 from three-point range and had 12 tunovers. 

Still, the Lions were able to use increased pressure defensively to overcome their 18-7 halftime deficit and creep back into the game.

In the fourth quarter, though, LT was 2-for-15 shooting with the only buckets by Smith and Robare inside with 3:12 left that cut Glenbard’s lead to 45-34.

The Lions forced a bad-pass turnover on the ensuing possession but then turned the ball back over on a travelling call. Glenbard West then broke the press and got a conventional three-point play from Jeff Levesque.

“We had plenty of opportunities to score from the perimeter but it was our worst shooting game since the (York Tournament in late December). Their size definitely affects that,” Sloan said.

“We made too many unforced errors that led to opportunities for Glenbard to score. Just like the first time we played them, once we had to come out and chase, the game was over.”  

LT gets another big Silver test at home Friday with York and then plays Hinsdale South in a nonconference home contest Saturday.

Girls basketball

Just when the Lyons Township girls basketball team appeared to establish an offensive groove, the Lions struggled scoring when it mattered most Saturday.

The Lions, who average 48.1 points per game, missed too many opportunities and suffered a 46-35 loss to Glenbard West in La Grange that leveled a serious blow to their chances of a West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship.

“I hope and believe that Glenbard West was just a bad game and the girls will move forward because we all know we didn’t play close to our potential,” LT coach Katie Meyers said. 

With one game left in Silver play, LT (15-8, 7-4 in Silver) dropped to third place behind leader Proviso West (18-9, 8-3). The Panthers were upset by Oak Park-River Forest 42-39 Tuesday but finish at home Friday with Downers Grove North (6-16, 2-8), which LT defeated 48-28 Tuesday in La Grange. In their Silver finale, the Lions visit second-place York (12-11, 7-3).

With Saturday’s result, Glenbard West (8-15, 3-8) snapped a seven-game losing streak and had lost 13 of its previous 14 games. The Hilltoppers, who boast multiple 6-footers, packed that size advantage into a tight zone, but the Lions couldn’t capitalize.

Kayla Morrissey had a team-high nine points with three rebounds while other contributors included Claire Polega (7 points, 3 rebounds), Colleen Connors (6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Ashanti Davis (4 points, 5 rebounds), Sara Beck (4 points, 4 rebounds), Maggie Orlowski (3 points) and Victoria Swift (2 points).

LT was 10-for-48 from  the field (20 percent) with three-pointers from Connors and Orlowski and just 13-for-26 from the free-throw line.

“It was a 2-3 zone, and we were attacking the basket. We had great opportunities, great looks and we missed a lot of layups or we needed one more pass to get a good look. We just weren’t executing our offensive game plan and it hurt us in the end,” Meyers said. “Our girls need to learn to play against tall teams. We play the shorter, fast teams with anyone, but when size is on our opponent, we kind of struggle.”

Defensively, the Lions saw the Hilltoppers score at least 45 points in a game for just the seventh time this season.

“It’s more defensive pride that’s lacking in games the second half of the season,” Meyers said. “We’re taking breaks on defense. I don’t know if they’re saving it up for our offense, but it’s hurting us in the end.”

On Friday, the Lions pulled off an emotional 51-39 victory over Class 3A area power St. Joseph in La Grange. 

Connors (16 points, three-pointer, 2 steals) and Davis (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals), the team’s top-two scorers at just more than 10 points per game, each finished in double figures. Adding six points apiece were Polega (4 rebounds) and Morrissey and Orlowski (2 rebounds each), and Swift added two points.

LT outscored St. Joseph 15-4 in the third quarter to extend a 28-22 halftime lead to 43-26. The Chargers were without its two leading scorers (Donna Koerber and Briya Wilborn).  

“We didn’t have a great game defensively by any means, but we were able to come out with the victory,” Meyers said. “We were scoring, and I can’t complain when we’re scoring. My only complaint is the defensive breakdowns.”

Top performers in the victory over Downers North were Connors (11 points with three-pointer, 4 rebounds), Polega (9 points, 4 rebounds), Davis (8 points, 7 rebounds), Beck (6 points, 4 rebounds), Morrissey (5 points, 5 rebounds) and Taylor Bastyr and Orlowski (3 points each).