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Sports

Boys Basketball: Mustangs' Run Stopped By Glenbard East

Glenbard East 67, Downers Grove South 62. The 18-game DGS win streak comes to a halt thanks to Rams' dynamic duo of Hill and Miller.

AURORA – Downers Grove South’s boys basketball team entered Wednesday’s Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinal game against Glenbard East not having lost a game since Dec. 18.

The Mustangs were riding a 18-game winning streak and were hoping to continue that run to force a rematch with East Aurora, whom DGS beat in the season opener, for the sectional title.

The veteran Rams had other ideas, however.

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Glenbard East’s Division I combo of Jon Hill (Illinois State) and Zach Miller (Northern Illinois), who call each other Batman (Hill) and Robin (Miller), scored 21 and 22 points respectively to hand the Mustangs a 67-62 loss and end their season at 25-4, one of the best seasons in program history.

“I am very proud of our guys,” DGS coach Jay Baum said. “We’ve come a long way. We haven’t lost a game in 2 ½ months. I don’t care if you’re in any level of athletics, to be able to do that is pretty impressive. I wish my seniors well. It’s been a great team effort. It’s extremely disappointing. As time passes, I’m sure we’ll reflect on the whole season.”

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The Mustangs came out strong, building an 11-5 lead at the outset. But seven straight points from Hill in the first and eight straight from Miller in the second pushed the lead to 27-19 for Glenbard East (25-3).

The two combined for another key run in the third when Miller hit consecutive three-pointers and Hill followed with a steal and a thunderous dunk to give the Rams a 41-29 lead in the third.

“They have so many weapons,” Baum said. “Each kid brought their own problems for us.”

The Mustangs still had a run in them, however, and junior Jerron Wilbut keyed it. He took off in transition and threw down a furious dunk over Hill to get the crowd back into it. He scored the final six DGS points of the third to cut the lead to 45-40, and it appeared the Mustangs were swinging the momentum.

But as every veteran team seems to do in the postseason, the Rams knew how to hang onto their lead. Reserve guard Pat Walsh started the fourth with a three-pointer, his only field goal of the game, and the Rams hit 15-of-16 free throws in the quarter as a team. DGS cut the lead to three on three occasions but never got any closer down the stretch.

“We focus in practice on free throws, that’s our big thing,” Hill said. “We just try to get to the line, try to tune everything out and knock our free throws down.”

Glenbard East was quietly hoping to get another crack at Benet Academy in the sectional finals. The Rams were pounded by the Redwings in a showcase at the Sears Centre in January. But they’re just as happy to get a crack at UConn-bound guard and the host Tomcats Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“To be honest with you, I was kind of sad when Benet lost,” Hill said. “We wanted them bad. We can’t control whom we’re going to face. Ryan Boatright’s a great player. He’s going to UConn for a reason. We just have to come out and have a good game plan against him and try to stop him and his team.”

As for the Mustangs, the road ended sooner than they had hoped. Senior center Ziggy Riauka will be missed, but DGS is fortunate that guards Jamall Millison and Wilbut, along with forward Kevin Honn, will all be back next year.

“I’m not going to admit that they’re a better team than us,” Baum said. “They were maybe a better team tonight. I’ll put my guys up against anybody, but unfortunately, we’re done. I wouldn’t trade my guys with anybody.”

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