The Glenbard West boys’ basketball team kicked off their season in the District 87 Thanksgiving Invitational tournament, with the Hilltoppers going 1-2 led by Mike O’Connell who averaged 11 points per game.

Glenbard South 52, Glenbard West 48

The game was tied 4-4 in the first quarter and Bennett Schwanke came away with a steal. In the second quarter it was a 20-11 game, when TJ Williams stole a pass and laid it in for a score. Bryce Huff made it a 22-18 game on a three from the top of the key with five minutes left, and then Schwanke gave the Hilltoppers a 25-22 lead on a three with 3:20 left in the half.

In the third quarter it was a 29-28 game in favor of the Hilltoppers when O’Connell grabbed a loose ball for a steal. Schwanke got the ball in the corner and nailed a three to go up 32-28. This was quickly followed by a three for Drew Gacek, putting the Hilltoppers up 35-28 with six minutes left. Williams had his second steal of the night, and Teyion Oriental had a steal, as well. O’Connell added a block in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter it was a 46-35 game after Gacek nailed a three with 7:22 on the clock, but Glenbard South was huge down the stretch on a 14-0 run and took a 52-48 win.

Glenbard West had a 35-26 rebounding advantage but they were outshot 39-36% on the floor, and the Raiders led 11-9 in assists and 9-7 in steals.

Schwanke tallied 12 points and five assists in the game. O’Connell had seven points, nine boards, a steal and a block.

Glenbard West 71, Glenbard East 49

The Hilltoppers came away with a big 71-49 win in the second game of the tournament, led by an 11 point, five rebound effort for O’Connell.

In the first quarter Schwanke sank a three to go up 10-6 with 3:45 left. Dominic Seaney had a block in the quarter for the Hilltoppers. By the time the second quarter hit, it was all Glenbard West up 26-12 highlighted by a fast break score by Williams off a steal. Williams had another steal and fast break layup to give them a 32-14 lead with 1:30 left in the half. As time expired in the half, Gacek nailed a three to make it a 38-17 lead for the Hilltoppers.

With 6:25 left in the third quarter, Schwanke hit a three to go up 43-17. Danny Monahan came up with a steal and took it to the basket to make it 45-17 with 6:15 left.

With 6:58 left in the game, Monahan hit a shot from deep to put the Hilltoppers up by 30 with a score of 61-31. Julian Yeh made it a 65-42 game with 2:50 left on a steal and fast break score. With under a minute to go, Oriental stole a pass and took it to the hole to go up 69-45, and the Hilltoppers took the lopsided victory.

Glenbard West shot 54% as a team and had a 27-23 rebounding advantage, 16-12 assist advantage and 15-4 steals advantage.

Logan Glover had 10 points and four boards, while Schwanke had eight points and four assists in the win.

Glenbard North 62, Glenbard West 54

Glenbard South and Glenbard West battled in the third game of the tournament, and the Panthers came away with a 62-54 win.

O’Connell opened up the scoring with a three-pointer to go up 3-0. With 3:25 on the clock in the first, Dominic Seaney hit a three as well, making it a 14-9 game in favor of the Panthers. It was a 17-9 game when Schwanke snagged an errant pass for a steal. Glover also had a steal at the end of the quarter, and it was a 17-12 lead for the Panthers after one.

In the second quarter the Hilltoppers cut it to a 19-14 game when O’Connell came up with a steal. On the next possession Williams drained a three from the corner to cut the Raider lead to two. With 5:31 on the clock, Yeh came away with a steal.

It was a 43-31 lead for the Panthers in the third quarter when Gacek cut the lead to nine on a three with about 4:50 left. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Williams drained another three to make it a 48-44 game, but the Panthers held on to win.

The Hilltoppers shot 44% and 40% from three, but the Panthers were on fire at 67% and 57% from deep. They also had a 22-15 rebounding advantage and 17-11 assist advantage. The Panthers also had three blocks in the game while the Hilltoppers had none. The Hilltoppers had a 4-3 steal advantage.

O’Connell had 15 points and three boards while Glover scored nine points. 

After the tournament, Coach Jason Opoka spoke about the team’s performance, saying there is more to work on to push for their goal of 20 wins.

“We have depth and length,” Opoka said, but added, “We are young and will have to learn quickly.”