Nate Kasher is the only starter that didn’t score in the double digits for Glenbrook South on Friday in Glenview.
But the junior flew headfirst into a drumset to save a ball from going out of bounds. Kasher’s dive and backward hurl of the ball led to a basket and symbolized the hustle and belief that is growing in the Titans.
“I was just trying to make a play,” Kasher said. “Glenbrook North never goes away no matter how far ahead we are.”
This was supposed to be Glenbrook North’s year. Fans of both teams packed the Titan Dome and were likely surprised to see that not much has changed. Glenbrook South still controls the rivalry, winning 63-48 against the No. 25 Spartans.
“Some things have clicked,” Titans senior Gaven Marr said. “We’ve really found how we can play together.”
Marr scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. Fellow senior RJ Davis added 15 points and nine rebounds and Josh Wolf added 11 points. Nick Taylor, a 6-7 junior, finished with 10 points and six rebounds for Glenbrook South.
“I’m going to have to go back into my stats but I’m not sure I have had a team that has had six different high scorers in a season,” Titans coach Phil Ralston said. “If you think you’re going to come after us by taking away Gaven or RJ we’ve got Nick Taylor and several other guys that are capable of stepping up and scoring. Josh Wolf has been en fuego the past several weeks.”
Glenbrook South (14-4, 2-2 CSL South) led by nine at halftime. Ryan Cohen opened the third quarter with a three-pointer that pulled Glenbrook North within six.
That’s when Kasher dove into the band to save the ball. The Titans just extended their lead from then on.
“Glenbrook North is still a really good team,” Davis said. “But it’s definitely a statement win for us. People doubted us this year.”
Cohen led the Spartans (14-2, 3-1) with 23 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Josh Fridman scored 16 points. The junior is one of the area’s most talented floor generals but Glenbrook South was able to keep him from running the show as effectively as usual.
“Our switching is something that helps us keep him in front,” Ralston said. “And we make sure we are playing good gap defense on drives. For the most part our kids did a brilliant job of making everything tough for Josh.”
Glenbrook North has been ranked all season and headed into the championship game of the Wheeling Holiday Tournament last week on a 14-game winning streak. The Spartans were upset by Libertyville in that title game and have now dropped two consecutive games.
Glenbrook South, which had its best season in school history last season, was expected to be rebuilding a bit after Nick Martinelli and Cooper Noard graduated.
Instead, the Titans will be a threat to win the sectional again. Two of their four losses were to Rolling Meadows. The second loss, by ten points at the York Holiday Tournament, was the Mustangs’ toughest game in the tournament.
“We take things one day at a time,” Ralston said. “But if we compete like this we can definitely compete with every team in our sectional.”
