GBN's Hanrahan: From stat keeper to stat maker

Junior foils Loyola fans' trickery, sparks Spartans' win with 4 treys

Last season, Glenbrook North junior forward Tommy Hanrahan kept statistics on the end of the bench during the Spartans’ playoff run to super-sectionals.

On Tuesday, the 6-foot-3 sharpshooter was producing key stats to help fuel another GBN postseason run.

Hanrahan sank four three-pointers in the second half on way to a team-high 16 points to help the top-seeded Spartans turn a precarious two-point lead into a runaway 60-41 victory over No. 12 seed Loyola in the Class 4A Niles West Sectional semifinals in Skokie.

“Me and Tommy Fernitz were the stats guys. We got to experience all of it last year,” Hanrahan recalled of last season after playing on the sophomore team. “We learned a lot from it, just being with the guys during their playoff run last year. I think we got a little more out of it and we knew what to expect coming into the playoffs this year.”

Perhaps that experience paid off when Hanrahan missed all six of his first-half shots against Loyola, including five three-pointers. He finally sank his first shot, a three-pointer, to give the Spartans (25-5) a 36-34 advantage with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the third quarter – 31 seconds after Loyola (13-18) had taken its only lead of the second half.

“It’s my job to hit my threes,” said Hanrahan, who sank 4 of 6 treys in the second half. “I missed a lot (in the first half). The coaches tell us you gotta keep shooting because that’s what we do. You gotta forget about (the misses), pretend like you’re 0 for 0 and knock them down.”

Hanrahan made his biggest three-pointer thanks to a big assist from the Loyola fans. With those fans falsely counting down the seconds at the end of the third quarter, Hanrahan put up a 25-footer from in front of GBN’s bench that went in with actually 5.2 seconds left in the period to give his team a 42-37 lead.

“Definitely Hanrahan’s shot at the end of the third quarter (was a momentum changer),” said GBN coach David Weber, whose team then stepped up its defense to limit Loyola to four fourth-quarter points on 1-for-13 shooting. “I thank their fans for counting down early. You need some luck at this time of the year and that was our lucky play.”

After Austin Weber sank a three-pointer of his own to extend the lead to 45-39, Hanrahan sandwiched back-to-back three-pointers just 36 seconds apart around two Loyola missed treys to bump the gap to 51-40 with 3:24 left.

“Tommy’s a great shooter, one of the best I’ve seen,” GBN senior guard Matt Merrigan said. “He had a rough first half, but right when he hit that one at the end of the third quarter, he just went off from there. He’s all mental. Once he keeps hitting, he’s not going to miss. He’s a really clutch shooter.”

Hanrahan’s consecutive treys sparked an 11-0 GBN run during which he also stole an inbounds pass.

Already having to contend with Notre Dame-bound Alex Dragicevich’s driving and Austin’s Weber’s three-point shooting, GBN’s future playoff opponents might have to keep a bigger eye on Hanrahan.

“He’s a spot-up shooter,” David Weber said of Hanrahan. “He’s the kind of kid that you don’t notice. Maybe he’s not the focus of a scouting report, but when we put him in the lineup, teams have to make choices. Do you let Alex penetrate and guard Tommy? Or do you not guard Tommy and double-team Alex? Because they’re going to chase Austin everywhere because he’s established himself as a three-point shooter. Hopefully we can exploit these matchups as we go on.”

Hanrahan just hopes GBN keeps moving on. He’s obviously enjoying his even better view of the playoffs this season.

“I’ve just had so much fun this year,” Hanrahan said. “I just want to keep continuing this run and get as far as we can go.”