BOYS BASKETBALL: Spartans Trounce Vikings in 'Layup Drill'

After the  finished demolishing Niles North in its home opener, Vikings coach Glenn Olson said the game was a layup drill for the Spartans.

The Spartans got to the basket seemingly at will in an impressive, and surprising, 67-39 win over the Vikings Tuesday night in Skokie. The two teams split the Central Suburban League North title and the Vikings beat the Spartans in a regional final last season.

Mark Johnson (28 points, 5 rebounds) and (29 points, 6 rebounds) used size and quickness to get a number of easy layups. The 6-foot-8-inch McAuliffe utilized a big height advantage inside while Johnson scored his points from numerous backdoor cuts to the basket.

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“We defend backdoors a certain way and we just didn’t do it,” Olson said. “We didn’t open up to the ball so in turn it was a layup drill.”

GBN led the entire game and took a 16-5 lead after the first quarter, with 14 points combined from Johnson and McAuliffe in the quarter. Late in the first Vikings center Billy Voitik picked up his second foul and went to the bench, which meant McAuliffe had an eight-inch height advantage over whoever guarded him.

McAuliffe’s teammates fed him the ball regularly for a season-high point total. The junior shot 13-17 from the floor and even showed off his shooting range by making a three-pointer that gave the Spartans a 33-12 lead in the second quarter.

“The team did a great job of getting the ball into me,” McAuliffe said. “It’s not that hard when they’re smaller than me, but once again it’s them getting the ball in to me.”

Johnson doubled his previous career-high of 14 points, set earlier this season, and said playing against McAuliffe in practice was part of what helped him improve.

“Going through practice every day, it’s so much more difficult to score because Andrew is guarding me," Johnson said. "So it’s a breath of fresh air whenever people other than Andrew are guarding me."

All-conference junior guard Malachi Nix was held to 12 points on 5-16 shooting for the Vikings (3-3, 0-1). Junior B.J. Beckford also had 12.

GBN coach David Weber prepared the team for a close game, but the Spartans (6-0, 1-0) put in what he thought was the best performance of the season. He is surprised by the team’s fast start.

“A little bit ahead of where we thought we were gonna be,” Weber said. “We had some injuries and we’re coming together, but we have a long way to go. We still haven’t seen certain things defensively.”

Olson’s Vikings are now on a three-game losing streak after starting the season 3-0. Senior Mychael Henley, the only other returning starter besides Nix, is out with a broken hand suffered in practice. He hopes to return before Christmas, but until then his vacancy is a challenge for the young Vikings.

“There’s not a ton of depth or experience, so his injury really, really hurts us, but at the same time we’ve gotta learn.” Olson said. “When you’re an effort-based team and you’re not working hard, it looks awful and that’s what happened tonight.”

Both squads continue CSL North play on Friday. The Spartans visit Deerfield while the Vikings head to Highland Park.

1

2

3

4

T

GLENBROOK NORTH

16

17

21

13

67

NILES NORTH

5

11

13

10

39