Three-pointers help GBN pull away from Loyola

Hanrahan, Weber's treys key Spartans' sectional semifinal win

With Loyola’s starting five standing at 6-foot-3 or taller and playing with a tight 1-3-1 zone, the Glenbrook North boys basketball team knew it had to dial up long distance to win Tuesday night.

While hitting only 7 of 21 on three-point attempts, the top-seeded Spartans (25-5) still found a way to hit their three-pointers when they needed it most in a 60-41 win over the No. 12-seeded Ramblers (13-18) in the Class 4A Niles West Sectional Semifinal in Skokie.

“We fell in love with the three,” said GBN senior guard Austin Weber, who finished with 11 points. “In the first half, we were getting all those layups. And then in the second half, they went to that zone and we just fell in love with that three.”

As time was winding down in the third period, the Loyola crowd yelled an early countdown, causing GBN  junior forward Tommy Hanrahan to throw up a three-pointer that went in from way beyond the arc, giving the Spartans a 42-37 lead.

“On the scoreboard, when you see it’s a close game, you’ve got to step up and make a shot,” said Hanrahan, who scored a game-high 16 points, 14 in the second half thanks to four three-pointers. “The third quarter one that I had was a big shot for us and we got the momentum after that.”

Loyola’s defense held GBN scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, forcing coach David Weber to call a timeout with five minutes left in the game. Seven second later, GBN started an overwhelming 14-1 run sparked by an Austin Weber three-pointer and then back to back three-pointers by Hanrahan to give the Spartans a 56-40 lead 1:49 left.

“I knew one of those two was going to hit the three,” David Weber said of Hanrahan and Austin Weber. “I knew it was going to happen eventually. Then when both of them hit a couple, I knew it was going to really open it up (the game).”

“Everything was going in that fourth quarter,” Hanrahan said. “When we got those baskets in a row, we locked down (on) defense and we just played great team basketball at the end of the game.”

Despite going 1 for 8 beyond the arc in the first half, GBN continued to pepper the net in the second half, going 6 for 13 from long distance.

“We were trying to get it inside, but they were just giving us the looks around the perimeter,” David Weber said. “I think with our team, you have to choose what you want to do. You’re going to give us the three or you’re going to stop us inside. In the second half, they chose to give us the three and we hit enough to create a good lead.” 

The Spartans’ defense shut down Loyola, limiting them to just 14 points in the second half and four in the fourth quarter on 1-for-13 shooting.

“Our defense was just great in the second half,” Hanrahan said. “When we play good defense, we lock down, take advantage of their missed shots and hit the boards hard. Peter (Szostak) and Andrew (McAuliffe) boarded really well and that was big.”

So was GBN’s free-throw shooting. The Spartans sank 21 of 23 free throws, compared to 8 of 14 for Loyola.

Szostak finished with 15 points, all in the first half, and six rebounds. Senior guard Alex Dragicevich added 13 points and six rebounds.

Loyola was led by 6-foot-7 junior guard Michael Lang with 14 points, followed by Jared Prince (10) and Robert Wennington (5), son of former Chicago Bulls player Bill Wennington.

GBN will face either No. 2 seed New Trier (22-4) or No. 3 seed Maine South (26-5) in the sectional championship Friday night. GBN lost to Maine South 52-49 Feb. 23 at home.

“(Both teams will be) very difficult for us, but we’ll give it our best effort,” David Weber said.

Chicago Sun-Times article​