Defensive-minded Geneva holds off late comeback from Glenbard North for second regional title in three years

GENEVA — Geneva senior Jack Hatton has basically become a professional at reading passes.

Whether it’s kicking away the ball on the soccer pitch, or sticking his foot out at every bounce pass that comes remotely near him, he’s learned from both sports to read the eyes of his opponents to become a disruption.

After being told he needed to put on his best defensive effort of his high school career to help contain Glenbard North in their Class 4A regional final, he knew he needed to use what he’s learned on both playing fields on display.

“(Coach Scott Hennig) really emphasized playing defense in this game, especially against a Glenbard North team that has five shooters,” Hatton said. “I got put in a good position to steal the ball, but I’ve got to give it to my teammates for setting me up for those steals.”

Hatton finished the night with four steals, including the game-clinching one with 1:20 left, to go with 11 points to lead the Vikings to a 42-35 victory over the Panthers to win their second regional final in three seasons.

“I just told our team that we needed to play a really defensive game, especially against an athletic team like Glenbard North,” Hennig said. “That’s a team that won a sectional last year, so we knew we had to be ready. But I’m super proud of our guys.”

The defensive effort from Geneva (28-4) was on full display throughout the first half, with the Panthers being held off the scoreboard for the first 7:20 of the game while the Vikings managed to grab eight of their 11 steals of the night in the half thanks to Hatton, junior Gabe Jensen and sophomore Nelson Wendell (three steals apiece) to take a 25-11 lead into halftime.

“I really challenged them on defense this game,” Hennig said. “Especially with guys like Wendell coming off the bench and Jack Hatton’s play being outstanding. We had some adversity with some guys in foul trouble, but I’m proud of these guys for overcoming it.”

But despite the early struggles, Glenbard North (16-15) didn’t go down easily. After junior Maharri Thatch sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter to cut the deficit to 30-22, the Panthers went on an 11-5 scoring run over the next six minutes to cut the score to 35-33 with the clock winding down.

“Our kids are at their best when they’re confident in playing and we did that much better in the second half,” Glenbard North coach Kevin Tonn said. “Our defense was on and we definitely got them on their back half. They’re a really good team, and when you give them a big lead from the gate, it’s tough to bounce back from. But I’m super proud of our response. That’s something we can be proud of in a tough loss.”

But after Hatton opened the lead back up to 37-33 on a layup, the senior secured his fourth steal of the night and sunk both of his free throws after a foul to get the lead back up to 39-33 with 1:20 left.

“Hennig told us we were going to run a certain play and I was confident in myself to make the score,” Hatton said. “And then I saw that (Glenbard North) was trying to get one more, and I read the pass perfectly, tipped it and then grabbed it before I got fouled.”

Senior Hudson Kirby (14 points) would further cement the lead after sinking his sixth free throw of the quarter, as he finished the night going 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Besides Thatch, who finished with eight points, Glenbard North’s comeback attempt was spearheaded by junior Matt Welch, who had 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half, to go along with nine rebounds.

“We just weren’t playing our style of basketball and we were second-guessing ourselves in the first half,” Tonn said. “Obviously we had a bad start to the game, not how we wanted, but I’m proud of our group for their resilience and their response in the second half.”