GBN learns lesson in regional-opening win

Spartans hold off Addison Trail's second-half challenge

Just because the Glenbrook North boys basketball team is the top seed in the Class 4A Niles West Sectional doesn’t mean it can take anything for granted.

The Spartans saw that firsthand Tuesday night against No. 19 seed Addison Trail before finally pulling away for a convincing 57-35 win in the Addison Trail Regional semifinals.

 Senior Austin Weber poured in a game-high 21 points, including knocking down six three-pointers and grabbing eight rebounds, for Glenbrook North.

Notre Dame-bound guard Alex Dragicevich added 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Spartans, which saw the Blazers cut a 17-point halftime deficit to 11 early in the fourth quarter.
 
"To beat (Addison Trail) on their home court … they were tough and physical,” Glenbrook North coach Dave Weber said. "It's a wake-up call for us. I believe the kids thought they could cruise a bit. In a tournament, you can't do that and we learned a lesson. But any time you win a tournament game, it's great.”

Glenbrook North (23-5) will next play Wednesday's semifinal winner between No. 8 seed Niles West and No. 9 Lake Park at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the regional championship.
 
The Spartans dominated the first half defensively and took a commanding 27-10 advantage into halftime.
 
However, Addison Trail came out aggressively in the third quarter and started chipping away at the Spartans’ lead. The Blazers popped in some three-pointers along with a few transition baskets that came off some bad shot selections by Glenbrook North and cut the lead to 41-28 going into the final quarter.

"(Addison Trail) threw us a challenge. We really didn't respond well at times and missed a few easy shots," Dave Weber said. “Sometimes our offense isn't very good because we stand around too much – something we’ve done all year. But we continue surviving and I hope it keeps us going throughout the tournament."

The Blazers’ Jaleo Gibbs (6 points) made a layup to cut the gap to 41-30 with 7 minutes, 5 seconds left. But Glenbrook North took advantage of some Addison Trail miscues the rest of the way to put the game away.

"I don't think we took the game lightly,” Austin Weber said. “But we weren't revved up like against some other teams we play. Addison Trail played hard when they came out in the third quarter and made a run. They were a good ball team.

“I definitely had to step up my game at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth. We didn't want to lose the game and go home."

A trey by Spartans guard Tommy Hanrahan with under 5 minutes remaining helped put Glenbrook North on the way to the win.

“We got the wide open shots outside," Hanrahan said. "We get in a good rhythm when we knock them down. So when I get wide open, it’s my job to knock it down."
 
Others who contributed for Glenbrook North included Ethan Schmidt off the bench with nine points and Peter Szostak, who had eight points, six blocks and three rebounds.
 
Glenbrook North dominated as a team with a total of 10 blocks but was outrebounded 27-22.
 
"We've got great team size," Dave Weber said. "After the blocks, we needed to rotate more and be ready to rebound. Hopefully we can do it in our next game.”