DGS varsity basketball team (5-1) buzzed through the media attention of Brendan Savage’s federal lawsuit to clutch a 81-56 win against rivals Hinsdale South last Friday night at home.
“We kind of told our guys that this was an opportunity, there was going to be a lot of media, a lot of people watching. It was an opportunity to really just show off and just play who we are, and I felt like we did for those 32 minutes,” head varsity coach Zach Miller said.
HSHS destroyed DGS last year 69-52, but that did not stop senior guard Richard Gasmen who scored the first two layups at 7:13 and again at 6:55 to take the lead 4-0 within the first minute of the game.
Gasmen scored one fourth of the points for DGS. Even with his 5’11” height, he took his energy and pride to take control of the game, which helped the Mustangs keep their heads high as they were playing against Savage and the HSHS student section.
“Just having a lot of heart playing and just having the confidence and mindset of knowing that I can do it,” Gasmen said.
The Hornets double teamed the Sveiteris brothers throughout the entire game, despite the double teaming, they were still able to score.
“A lot more confidence, just a real belief in who they are. Yeah we’re a little different team but it’s the same faces. These kids man, I love this group, my babies have grown up to be seniors and now they’re playing like it, I’m just super proud and happy for them,” Miller said.
Senior guard Domininic Marcantelli scored a 2-pointer within the first 13 seconds to get the second quarter going. Marcantelli then followed it with a 3-pointer and a rebound to help keep the big lead the Mustangs got throughout the first quarter.
Junior guard Keon Maggitt and junior forward Joe Grippo were also key players in the second quarter. Maggitt used his body to glide up the HSHS players to score two layups and take the ball from them. Grippo was defending Savage
throughout this quarter, which kept all eyes on Grippo but Grippo still managed to score four points and kept Savage from scoring any.
“With the injuries of Will Potter and Justin Sveiteris [who is now back], Joe has kind of been forced to grow up a little bit quicker and he really made some good time plays tonight. He’s a spark, he’s always in the right place at the right time,” Miller said.
DGS went into the second half of the game with an 18 point lead (49-31) but DGS failed to score first; HSHS guard Adam Flowers scored an open 3-pointer. But DGS followed it back, Maggitt stole the ball and sprinted across an open court to easily score a layup.
The Hornets student section got loud as Savage scored his first layup of the game, which caused Miller to call DGS’s third timeout. Within seconds of getting out of the timeout, Gasman scored his 20th point of the game with a smooth 3-pointer. DGS senior guard Jalen House scored the last two points for DGS of the 3rd quarter, his 10th point of the game to carry them into the last eight minutes of the game with a 64-49 lead.
“Jalen was really good on the defensive end, locking down Jack Weigus and that’s what we really focused on because he’s the one who scores all their points,” Grippo said.
Maggitt and senior guard Jeremiah Harlin kept the last quarter buzzing. Maggitt knocked down two HSHS players to score a layup, followed by another layup right after to make the student section go wild. Harlin kept it going as he stole the ball and ran across an open court to score a layup, which killed the Hornet’s energy as the DGS’s student section went crazy (76-56) with 2 minutes and 14 seconds remaining of the game.
“21 Jeremiah I mean talk about a coming out party the kid was absolutely electric. Anytime he touched the ball you heard the crowd kind of gasp a little bit,” Miller said.
Junior guard Daniel Laurich finished off the game with a nice layup after stealing the ball out of HSHS guard Olasupa Akande hands to end the game with a 81-56 win. DGS will host their next game on Dec. 5, 2023 against Chicago Juarez.
