Boys Basketball: Maine South gets defensive vs South Elgin
Updated: December 28, 2011 12:56AM
Maine South and South Elgin stayed true to form and served up a grind-it-out affair in the first round of York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic on Tuesday.
In a meeting of two teams known for their defensive prowess, the Hawks scored the game’s first six points and never relinquished their lead as they held off the scrappy Storm for a 30-28 victory.
“It wasn’t an enjoyable game,” Maine South coach Tony Lavorato said. “It was a stressful game, but that’s kind of what we expected playing a quality, fundamental team like South Elgin.”
Points proved hard to come by as usual for South Elgin (5-6), which was held to fewer than 30 points for the third time this season. Poor shooting was the main culprit as the Storm trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half.
South Elgin made only 12-of-37 shots (32.4 percent) from the field and missed its first 12 attempts from beyond the three-point arc before Jake Maestranzi finally connected from long range to cut Maine South’s lead to 26-25 with 1:11 left.
As if the offensively challenged Storm needed more obstacles, it trailed 28-25 with 23 seconds left when an apparent game-tying three-pointer by Darius Wells was waved off when officials ruled a foul by Maine South’s Matt Lahey away from the ball occurred before Wells lifted his shot.
“Sometimes you get a break, and we did get a break on that play,” Lavorato said.
South Elgin ultimately came up empty on the possession, and Lahey sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left to put the Hawks ahead by five. Maestranzi made a three-pointer with two seconds left, but it was too little too late as the Storm finished 2-for-16 from three-point range.
“Shooting 12-for-37 didn’t help,” South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said. “Thirty of those shots were wide open. Against a matchup zone when you’re taking wide-open shots, you’ve got to make them.”
John Solari led the way for Maine South (7-3) with 10 points and four rebounds. Danny Quinn added eight points for the Hawks.
Maestranzi finished with a game-high 14 points and Kris Fojas added six points off the bench for the Storm, which limited Maine South to single-digit scoring in every quarter.
“We held them to 30 points, and that’s pretty good,” Maestranzi said. “They were bigger than us, but we played tough in the post.”
Maine South moves on to play Downers Grove South in the quarterfinals at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. South Elgin takes on Palatine at 3:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
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