When senior Tyler Dennis cashed on two free throws off Glenbrook North’s Patrick Schaller fourth foul in the third quarter, the Kits had cut the Spartan lead to just 37-30.
Eight minutes later, GBN led by 28 points.
Despite holding Deerfield to just 34 points on Wednesday night, Glenbrook North’s dynamic duo of seniors Josh Fridman and Owen Giannoulias combined for 45 points en route to a 65-38 win that displayed a pure domination of court awareness and physicality compared to the Kits. With the win, Glenbrook North improved to 16-4 with an unblemished 6-0 CSL record on the season, while Evanston dropped to 15-8 (3-4 CSL). The victory marked GBN’s second win against the Kits this season, defeating Evanston 49-31 on Dec. 8.
There’s a chance Evanston may get another shot against the Spartans in the playoffs, but Evanston won’t be doing themselves any favors with a shooting track similar to Friday night. The Kits shot just over 30 percent from the field and only knocked down 3/21 three point attempts, compared to Glenbrook North’s 51 percent overall shooting.
“[We] have to make shots,” Evanston head coach Mike Ellis said. “You’re three-of-21 on threes tonight and there weren’t [even] a lot of desperation threes taken. No team is gonna make three threes and win.”
Glenbrook North jumped out of the gate hot off two Fridman threes and a Giannoulias and-1 layup to go up 9-0. Ellis subbed out senior Morgan Brown after a turnover and put in Tyler Dennis, who instantly brought new energy to the floor for the Kits by fighting through contact for a layup and a foul, but by the end of the quarter, the Kits trailed 15-6. That start set a poor tone for Evanston.
“I just thought we came out too timid. That was the difference in the game,” Ellis stated. “At the start of the game, we just played without any aggression.”
Dennis opened the second quarter with a three point play, but North’s Dylan Fleishman countered back draining a three. The Kits continued to trade buckets throughout the quarter with GBN, but the hosts were significantly more efficient and led 30-19 by the end of the first half. Evanston went into the break shooting just 27 percent.
Fridman splashed a three to open the second half, but the Kits managed to claw their way into a close game. On the very next possession, senior Brandon Watson found junior Theo Rocca for an open layup. One play later, Watson drove to the hoop and dished out a pretty pass to senior Antoine Thomas who converted a close-range two. And a couple possessions later, Brown drew a charge from Schaller and drained a three on the other end. Evanston trailed by just seven. Both offenses stalled for a short period, but the Spartans started to heat up. Fridman’s layup combined with a fading three-pointer ended Evanston’s short-lived bright spot, as the Kits simultaneously turned the ball over possession after possession. GBN led 44-30 going into the final quarter of play.
“You can’t turn the ball over 17times [compared] to [GBN’s] six,” Ellis said. “Part of toughness is possessing the basketball and not giving it away.”
The Spartans’ fourteen point lead at the end of the third quarter was just the tip of the iceberg. Glenbrook North went a ridiculous 9/12 from the field and made 67 percent of their three point attempts while going on a 28-9 run to close the game out. By night’s end, Fridman had 27 points, Giannoulias chipped in 18, and Schaller dropped 13. Fridman showcased a plethora of six drained threes and multiple dimes, including a spinning, no-look assist that put the nail in the coffin late in the quarter.
“Fridman was the best player on the floor tonight. So when you have the best player on the floor, and he happens to be a point guard, they’re going to have their fingerprint all over that way. I just thought we got outplayed by senior guards and bigs,” Ellis stated.
Dennis echoed that the Kits can use this loss as fuel going into a difficult stretch.
“We just didn’t come out with the same fire tonight,” Dennis said. “I feel like we had some missed opportunities and some easy misses that we could have made. Our mentality is to kill. We have to take this into the next game and take our anger out.”
Evanston will host Loyola on Tuesday, Jan. 23, which will be a huge test to see how the Kits can respond against the Ramblers’ elite defense. Loyola knocked off Glenbrook North, 48-38, on Jan. 6.
