Never before had senior Ben Biskupic achieved a double-double for the Riverside Brookfield boys basketball team. Senior Liam Enright never shot free throws any faster. Senior Colin Cimino never soared higher for a perfectly-timed blocked shot.
Those superlatives and others added up to the Bulldogs’ biggest regular-season victory in recent memory, Feb. 3. They defeated area-rated rival Glenbard East 69-64 in front of a frenzied home crowd to gain a tie for the Upstate Eight Conference East Division lead after both teams shared last year’s title with 11-1 records.
“Beating them on our home floor with a good turnout from our fans, it was probably my favorite game that I’ve ever been a part of,” Cimino said.
The Bulldogs (20-6, 10-1 in UEC East) had lost 70-58 at Glenbard East (23-3, 10-1) on Dec. 19 after leading 36-32 at halftime. Now they can clinch a share of the conference title with a victory Wednesday at West Chicago (6-18, 2-8) in their league finale.
Enright (19 points with 3 three-pointers, 6 rebounds), Cam Mercer (18 points), Biskupic (13 points, 10 rebounds), Cimino (10 points) and VanTholen (9 points) led the balanced attack. Mercer, Cimino and VanTholen played the entire game.
“I feel like this was our best overall game as a team. Everyone showed up, played well,” senior and third-year varsity guard Mercer said. “These last two years of varsity basketball, that’s the best we’ve played the first three quarters that I’ve ever been a part of. The 1-3-1 (zone defense) kind of slowed us down a little bit but I’m glad we overcame it, got used to it and got the job done.”
It wasn’t easy. The Bulldogs appeared in control, leading 59-42 entering the fourth quarter after being up 20 points (55-35) during the third quarter. But the senior-heavy Rams, led by South Dakota recruit Michael Nee (22 points with 3 threes), scored 15 straight points to close to 59-57 with 3:39 left.
Always ahead by at least two, the Bulldogs scored five points in the final 30 seconds to prevail.
“It was a great environment — two really good basketball teams going at it and luckily we came out on top,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said. “We talk all the time in our program about playing for championships and that was a championship level environment. Basketball’s a game of runs and they made a big one there in the fourth, but we stuck together and made the plays we needed to make down the stretch.”
Biskupic’s 10th rebound may have been the most important. With RBHS leading 63-61 with 1:24 remaining, VanTholen missed two free throws but Biskupic swooped in for the offensive rebound and the Bulldogs maintained possession.
“It was definitely nice to get [a double-double] in such a big game where guys are a lot taller than me. I was able to get those 10 rebounds and make my shots,” he said.
RBHS worked the clock. With 28.6 seconds, Enright was fouled and rapidly sank two free throws.
“It felt amazing. It was quick too. I had nothing to think about. Just in the rim and that was it,” said Enright, whose 11 first-quarter points aided a 19-0 run and 24-12 advantage.
“[Our victory] felt great. We came out in that game and we definitely got what we wanted beforehand.”
As the Rams tried to answer, VanTholen stole the ball at the top of the key for a layup and a 67-61 lead with 15.8 seconds left. Nee sank three free throws, but Mercer added two with 1.9 seconds.
Down 59-57, Glenbard East had one possession to take the lead but missed a three. The Bulldogs then finally scored on back-to-back possessions on a drive by Biskupic and Mercer inside to the right of the lane.
“That’s what [Biskupic] does. That’s what he’s great at,” VanTholen said. “He’s kind of our glue guy, keeps us together, makes big plays when we need them. I think that was probably the biggest difference [from Dec. 19], that was staying together through the tough times.”
Biskupic said the players tried to promote the weeknight game and were pleased with the student crowd, which stormed the court afterward.
With RBHS leading 50-33 in the third quarter, they were treated to Cimino blocking an apparent easy layup with almost perfect timing.
“I saw Colin go up and get it. It was just an amazing sight to see, got us hyped for sure,” Mercer said.
“I definitely thought it was a goal-tend at first but I’m glad the refs did not call that,” Cimino said. “I’m going to say it was the biggest block I’ve ever had. I’ll take comparisons to LeBron’s from 2016. It was definitely a fun block to get.”
After beating Fenton 53-21, Friday, the Bulldogs’ 12-game winning streak ended with a 70-64 loss at Oak Lawn (22-6), which now has won 12 straight. Mercer (27 points with 5 threes) and Enright (12 points, 8 assists) led the Bulldogs, who lost to Oak Lawn in last season’s regional.
“[Glenbard East] was a great team win,” Reingruber said. “We’re playing good basketball right now but we’ve got to continue. Hopefully survive and advance in the state tournament.”
