Boys Basketball: Narrow defeat spurs the Titans to work harder
BY PATRICK KELLY Contributor February 10, 2012 9:30PM
Glenview-Alex Darville (left) Niles West dives for the loose ball with Josh Arenson of Glenbrook South.Boys basketball pits the Titans of Glenbrook South versus the Wolves of Niles West High School. | Joe Cyganowski ~ For Sun Times Media
standings
CSL South
Waukegan 8-1 14-8
New Trier 7-2 18-5
Evanston 5-4 16-9
Maine South 4-5 16-11
Niles West 2-7 5-17
Glenbrook S. 1-8 5-18
CSL North
Glenbrook N. 7-2 17-6
Niles North 6-3 17-7
Maine West 5-4 12-12
Highland Park 5-4 14-10
Deerfield 4-5 9-13
Maine East 0-9 4-17
(Through Sunday)
Article Extras
Updated: March 17, 2012 8:08AM
Matt Siegel provided a big spark for Glenbrook South in the third quarter Friday night when the Titans battled Central Suburban South foe Niles West.
The junior forward had six points in the period, including two buckets during a 9-1 run at the end of the third, which allowed Glenbrook South to turn a one-point lead at the intermission into a 38-22 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.
“I was just trying to play hard; my teammates found me,” Siegel explained. “I give credit to them, I was just trying to do what I can. We were staying positive, it was close. I think we were up one (point) at half, so we wanted to really extend the lead and try to put it away.”
Unfortunately the big lead was not enough, as Niles West (4-17, 2-7) outscored the Titans 23-6 in the last period to hand Glenbrook South a stunning 45-44 defeat in Glenview.
The Titans had a chance to hold off the upset bid with the scored tied 44-44, but a layup attempt by Victor Levi just missed with five seconds left, and a foul was called as Niles West’s David McCoy grabbed a defensive rebound.
McCoy hit the front end of a one-and-one with three seconds left, and a rebound and three-quarter court toss by Levi as the buzzer sounded fell way short.
“It was tough, we have been in close games all year, we just have not figured out how to win any yet,” said senior guard Jamie Nikitas. “The games we have had that have been close, we have been on defense in that situation. We really have not had the chance to get a bucket and we had a good shot that just rimmed out. We got good passes, and Vic got a good shot.”
Nikitas did not score in the fourth quarter, but led the Titans with 12 points. He also contributed five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Glenbrook South (5-18, 1-8) managed just five points in the opening period, but took a 19-18 lead at the half when six different Titans scored in the second quarter. Josh Arenson, Nikitas, Levi, Trey Dahiya and T.J. Mihelic all had baskets before the break.
When Siegel (10 points, 3 boards) busted out in the third quarter, so did forward Justin Busiel, who had two baskets in the period. Busiel (6 points) also had a basket with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter to give the Titans a 42-27 lead, but they were limited to just one bucket the rest of the way.
“It is a bad feeling, nobody wants to feel this way,” said Siegel. “I think that we can learn that this is not where we want to be, it just really comes down to practice after this. We can still make a run in the playoffs, nothing is promised to anyone.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment