Boys Basketball: Deerfield upsets Glenbrook North in OT

Updated: December 9, 2011 10:31PM

Glenbrook North jumped out to a 13-2 lead over Deerfield in the first four minutes of Friday’s Central Suburban North showdown. Deerfield’s leading scorer Alex Sacks already had two fouls and wouldn’t return for the rest of the half. North forward Mark Johnson already had 12 points on 5 of 5 shooting.

Deerfield coach JJ Pearl called a timeout and lit into his team.

“I said there’s only one way to knock the bully off the block and that’s to stand up to him,” Pearl said.

The Warriors not only stood tall, they knocked the bully from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Deerfield (3-4, 1-1) stormed back from the early deficit and upset the Spartans, 48-42 in overtime.

With Sacks out, sophomore guard Eric Porter (15 points) took the offensive reins. He went on a personal 10-0 run to cut the lead to one midway through the second quarter.

In the second half, sophomore forward Michael Alfieri not only neutralized Johnson, but he also scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Warriors imposed their will on the bigger Spartans.

After a slow third quarter, North (6-1, 1-1) held a tenuous two-point lead with under two minutes to go.

Alfieri pumped three times before hitting a short bank shot with 1:37 left to tie the game at 37. North held the ball for a final shot, but missed badly on a three-pointer to send the game to an extra frame.

Kurt Karis made a short floater to give North a two-point lead on the first possession, but Deerfield locked down on the defensive end and made 8 of 12 free throws to salt away the victory. North’s only other points came on a three-pointer with 12 seconds left when the outcome had been decided.

“We didn’t start out with energy and we couldn’t let it happen on our home floor,” Porter said. “Once Alex (Sacks) went out, we all had to step up. I stepped up, Michael and Mack (Watts) stepped up. We knew what we had to do.”

Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but with 6-foot-8 forward Andrew McAuliffe out, the Spartans simply didn’t have the offensive firepower to hold on.

“Offensively we knew it was going to be a struggle,” North coach David Weber said. “They just sat in the lane and dared us to shoot.

“We’ve been running everything through McAuliffe for the last month and now we have to change our whole offense. You’re taking 20 points and our best shot blocker out of the lineup.”

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