TJ Williams goes for career-high 32 points, Glenbard West pulls away from Glenbard East late

ST. CHARLES – TJ Williams is not the type of player to force shots or attempt them at a high volume.

Glenbard West’s junior guard prefers to let the game come to him. Usually, his first inclination is to make his presence felt as a disruptor on the defensive end.

Even Williams, though, could sense that Tuesday was going to be his his night.

“Once I saw the first couple shots go in I knew it was going to be a good game,” Williams said. “I let the game come to me, my teammates started finding me. I’m just doing what I can.”

What Williams did was more than enough to keep the Hilltoppers moving on.

Williams scored a career-high 32 points, 22 of that total coming in the second half.

Top-seeded Glenbard West pulled away late to beat fourth-seeded Glenbard East 65-47 in a Class 4A St. Charles East Sectional semifinal.

Glenbard West (27-5), which advanced to face the Geneva-Wheaton Warrenville South winner Friday, struggled to a six-point win over Willowbrook in its first playoff game, and needed double overtime to beat Addison Trail in the regional final.

But the Hilltoppers blew open what was an eight-point lead on district rival Glenbard East (22-11) after three quarters with a 12-0 run. Williams scored seven during that run for a 58-38 lead.

Logan Glover added 13 points and five rebounds and Drew Gacek nine points for the Hilltoppers.

“It feels good. The first two games we had to battle it out. We had a lot of doubters saying we really aren’t a No. 1 team,” Williams said. “It feels good to be able to win like this. Preparation was great. We all knew what the job was.”

Williams' job No. 1 is to play at the top of Glenbard West’s 1-3-1 zone, and he played it exceptionally well Tuesday with seven steals, several he turned into offense the other way.

But he also shot a remarkably efficient 13 of 16 from the field with a smooth assortment of runners off the glass, medium-range jump shots and three 3-pointers.

He capped it off with two dunks in the final minutes.

“TJ was awesome. He let the game come to him, and when he is active and aggressive up top in our 1-3-1 we’re a different team,” Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said.

“We also called his number and Glenbard East was playing up on him. He has the ability to go high and get his pull-up going and made some good decisions down the stretch. Very efficient shooting, but more proud of his defensive effort.”

Glenbard West indeed asserted itself into the lead with its 1-3-1. Glenbard East led 14-10 the first minute of the second quarter but from there the Rams had just one made field goal over the next six minutes while Glenbard West pulled into a 26-19 halftime lead.

“It helps when they got 6-3 at the top, 6-5, 6-6 with length and athleticism and then a 6-8 kid coming off the bench going to Northwestern [Michael O’Connell, for football],” Glenbard East coach Eric Kelly said. “They push you up. Our guys in the first half weren’t being aggressive enough in getting inside that zone.”

Glenbard West was also effective in limiting Glenbard East ace shooter Michael Nee, who scored just six points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Sam Walton and Danny Snyder each scored 13 for the Rams.

“Our defense wears you down,” Opoka said. “People settle for outside perimeter shots. If we can rebound to go we’re in rhythm.”

The Rams started to find their rhythm offensively after halftime, but could not get stops and had no answer for Williams or athletic post Glover’s drives to the rim.

Williams scored 11 of his 32 in the third quarter, starting with a 3-pointer for a 15-point lead shortly out of halftime.

“Coming out of halftime we were up seven and our coach was telling us to keep up the intensity and put the game away,” Williams said. “I got some shots in transition, some fastbreak dunks.

“I’ve been playing the 1-3-1 for three years. I feel like I’m getting better every game and learning finding my spots.”

Glenbard East plans to be back in this spot next year – and beyond.

The Rams won a share of the Upstate Eight East Conference championship, and the program’s first regional title since 2020.

“Hopefully we’re going past here next year,” Kelly said. “Six of our top seven guys are juniors, we only have three seniors on the roster and only one of them plays. Next year is the year we’re looking to make a run at state.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2025/03/05/tj-williams-goes-for-career-high-32-points-glenbard-west-pulls-away-from-glenbard-east-late/