New Trier Plays Spoiler Role, Now Tied Atop CSL South
With 2:08 remaining in the second quarter, New Trier was down by 22 points to Glenbrook South on its home court.
For the Trevians, the outcome looked bleak. But the team never flinched.
When the final buzzer sounded, the New Trier players ran to center court, celebrating after their 64-63 comeback victory against the Titans.
New Trier coach Scott Fricke couldn’t have been more proud of his group.
“We came out so flat today, and I think it has to do with playing two emotional games against Evanston this weekend, not having a day to prep, there were a lot of things we could have used as excuses,” Fricke said. “Our kids just decided to play harder, reach from within, and you kind of saw what happened.”
The Trevians (10-2, 6-2) ended the first half on a 12-3 run to make it a 37-24 game going into the third quarter.
“We talked at halftime; it’s not like we are going to get the lead back in one minute,” Fricke said. “Let’s just chip away and play solid basketball. We’re still in the game.”
It started with New Trier’s adjustment to use a 1-3-1 defense. This forced Glenbrook South (14-2, 6-2) into turnovers and New Trier took advantage.
“We started getting very lazy with passes and we stopped moving against the zone,” Glenbrook South coach Phil Ralston said. “It was just like the perfect storm.”
One of the other reasons why New Trier made its comeback was because of junior forward Jackson Munro, who ended with a game-high 21 points.
After picking up two early fouls, which forced him to sit for a good portion of the second quarter, Munro scored six in the third quarter. Sophomore Jake Fiegen added another six points in the third, and New Trier trailed by one entering the last eight minutes of play.
Glenbrook South junior Cooper Noard started the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to give the Titans a 53-49 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. Noard finished with a team-high 18 points.
But the Trevians kept fighting and Glenbrook South’s 22-point lead was all but gone. With one minute remaining in the game, New Trier was tied 60-60. A few seconds, after Josh Kirkpatrick’s two made free throws, the Trevians were up 63-61.
Despite having the lead, New Trier junior Karlo Colak — who scored nine points — knew the game was far from over.
“It was at the moment we were up that we needed to play the best we have played the whole game,” Colak said. “We needed to finish this thing off and not let this chance slip away.”
The comeback will go down as a memory Colak, Fricke and the entire New Trier team will never forget. The Trevians now move into a tie atop the CSL South standings in the loss column (two, with Evanston and Glenbrook South). New Trier’s win over Evanston Saturday put the Titans in the driver’s seat for the end-of-season Chipotle Clash of Champions slot guaranteed to the CSL South champion. Evanston now takes the bid with a win over Maine South on Wednesday.