Lyons benefits from no small amount of size and a growing amount of experience. For coach Tom Sloan, that means he can deploy the bulk on defense — four of his starters are 6-foot-5 or better — and create offense from that.
The combination paid off for the 18th time in 24 attempts in a 63-59 victory over Glenbard West in the Lions’ big den on Feb. 6. That kept Lyons in close pursuit of York for the West Suburban Silver lead, and presumably builds good habits for the upcoming playoffs.
The keys to this one-two punch are Grant Smith, the star sophomore, and senior Nate Woods. At 6-6 and 6-5 respectively, their defensive position on the wings of a 3-2 zone defense gives opponents little maneuvering room, forcing them to venture into the middle or put up 3-pointers.
The latter ploy only worked toward the end, when the Hilltoppers trimmed a 12-point deficit to four points by game’s end. It was Lyons’ 23-12 outburst in the third quarter, when Woods came alive offensively, that built the cushion the Lions enjoyed.
“We’re doing a good job communicating together,” Woods said. “Our rotations were solid. We’ve just got to make sure we help more and stay in front of our guy. The difference in the second half? The way we attacked the defensive glass and got out in transition. And the zone really slows the game down for them.”
The change was obvious. The game, helter-skelter in the opening half with 20 3-pointers taken, slowed down, and the Lions’ corresponding 8-4 rebounding edge contributed to their building a 44-35 margin after three quarters. It grew to 12 points midway through the final quarter, with Smith and Woods as connected as Butch and Sundance.
“The big past of the second half was our communication,” Smith said. “We did a good job stopping No. 10 (Josh Abshanab), a really good driver.”
It’s been a work in progress all season for Lyons (18-6, 8-1 West Suburban Silver through last week).
“To start the year, me and Nate were finding each other,” Smith said. “We hit some rocky spots in the middle of the season, but we’ve both hit our rhythm and trust each other with the ball.”
“There was a time when we were kind of being selfish, but we figured it out,” Woods said. “We started sharing it more.”
Smith split his game-high 32 points evenly across each half, while Woods scored his 14 points after the intermission. With him suddenly hitting inside and out, the Hilltoppers couldn’t lean on Smith as much as they had in the second quarter, when he was held to a 3-pointer.
“The first half, I wasn’t really attacking the basket, but the second half, I really switched it up, attacked and got much easier baskets,” Smith said.
“When Grant drives and draws three guys, that makes an easy kick (pass),” Woods said.
All that was music to Sloan’s ears.
“We defended the drive better in the second half, rebounded better, and that led to transition opportunities,” he said. “Our offense worked better because we were more patient and moved the ball and bodies better. And it started on the defensive end. We had a bunch of stops in a row.”
Guard Owen Carroll, at 6-foot-2 the shortest starter, scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. Abushanab’s 18 points led Glenbard West (10-14, 6-3).