After a pair of thunderous back-to-back third quarter dunks by Josh Fleming brought the house down in Tuesday’s matchup with Glenbard East, one thing became quite apparent.
This Glenbard North team has found a swagger.
Playing with a high-level of confidence after Saturday’s victory over Naperville North knocked the Huskies from the land of the unbeaten within the DuPage Valley Conference, the Panthers backed that up with a 65-51 decision over the two-time defending league champion Rams in their third game in five days.
Add in Friday’s 52-40 win over West Chicago and Glenbard North is now tied atop the DVC standings with an 8-1 mark.
“Getting these wins back-to-back-to-back is big for us,” said senior forward Ryan Krueger, who had 11 points on Tuesday, punctuated by an emphatic slam in the fourth quarter. “It’s big for our confidence. Our team is rolling right now.”
The Panthers will hope to carry that momentum into Friday’s now-huge matchup with West Aurora, which sits at 7-1 in the DVC. The Blackhawks handed Glenbard North their only league loss back on Dec. 16.
“We know it’s going to be a tough task going to their place on Friday night,” said coach Joe Larson.
A victory over West Aurora would go a long way in helping Glenbard North reach their goal of a DVC title, which would be the program’s first since 1991.
“It’s something we want really bad,” the coach said, “but we know we have to keep working at it and keep getting better.”
To reach the ultimate prize, the Panthers know they can’t look too far into the future nor dwell too much on their recent success.
“I think we are handling things the right way,” Larson added. “We always talk about staying humble and staying hungry and moving on to the next day. You can’t be too happy with yourself.
“These guys have been preparing hard and working hard to perform. When the games come, they are ready to play.”
Carol Stream, IL —
