Dec. 12--After a fall full of excitement at Glenbard West, Justin Pierce and the boys basketball team are getting in on the action.
Pierce scored 35 points to lead the No. 15 Hilltoppers to a 54-40 win against York in a West Suburban Silver game Friday in front of a large crowd in Glen Ellyn.
The Hilltoppers (7-0, 1-0) have a long way to go to match the undefeated football team's Class 7A state championship or the girls volleyball team's 4A runner-up finish, but their fast start has caused a continuation of the school's excitement.
Pierce opened the season with consecutive 36-point games, and Alex Passi drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer to defeat Naperville Central last Saturday.
"It's been a great start to the year," Pierce said, "and I just want it to keep going."
On Friday, Pierce scored 32 of his team's first 39 points. He scored nine in the first quarter before sitting out for more than three minutes with a bloody nose. He returned to score six points in the final seconds of the first half, including a 25-footer at the buzzer. Then, the 6-foot-6 William and Mary recruit scored all 15 of his team's third-quarter points.
"I hit my nose diving to the floor," said Pierce, who added seven rebounds. "But every game I get the elbows that not many people can see, and the talking. ... I used that to fuel me, but I didn't need any motivation. I had never beaten York in my high-school career."
At one point Pierce scored 23 straight points for the Hilltoppers until Connor O'Shea's consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth.
"Justin can score in so many ways that he's a matchup problem," Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder said.
The Dukes (5-3, 1-1) took the lead twice while making four 3-pointers in their first six third-quarter possessions, but one of Pierce's scoring binges put the Hilltoppers ahead for good.
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Player of the game: Justin Pierce, Glenbard West, 35 points, 7 rebounds.
Key performers: Glenbard West -- Connor O'Shea, 10 points. York -- John Morrissey, 13 points, 3 3-pointers.
