Maine South sends Glenbard East into consolation bracket
Glenbard East’s boys basketball team saw firsthand the difference between one-dimensional and well-rounded.
Unfortunately for the Rams they were on the wrong end of the spectrum against Maine South on Thursday.
Three players reached double-figure scoring as Maine South advanced to the Proviso West Holiday Tournament quarterfinals with a 60-51 victory over Glenbard East on Thursday in Hillside.
The Hawks (11-1) will play Stevenson at 7 p.m. Friday, while the Rams face St. Charles East in the consolation bracket at 6 p.m. in the Proviso West field house.
“We didn’t attack the basket enough and we’ve got to get a little better inside presence,” said Rams coach Scott Miller. “We rely a little too much on that 3, and when it’s not dropping like tonight you see what happens.”
The result was 7-of-30 3-point shooting by the Rams (8-3) as Maine South enjoyed a 31-9 advantage in free-throw attempts. Despite valiant attempts by Glenbard East to stay close, the Hawks kept the Rams at bay every time with all five starters chipping in at least 8 points.
“We were just working together,” said Hawks guard Caleb DeMarigny. “We’ve got guys who can drive, guys who can shoot and post. We’re just using everyone’s strength and having some diversity in our offense. It makes it much harder to defend than being one-dimensional.”
The score was tied at 25 apiece heading to the third quarter, but that’s when Glenbard East became ice cold from the field. Maine South’s 20-7 burst included an 11-2 run and a 9-0 run to close the perod with a 45-32 lead.
The Hawks’ advantage widened to 14 points before Glenbard East finally strung together a run. Fierce defensive pressure and timely shooting helped narrow the gap to 55-51, but two missed 3-pointers and a blocked perimeter shot prevented the Rams from getting closer.
Even though Maine South made only half its 20 fourth-quarter free throws, it was enough to seal the win. Tahron Harvey led all scorers with 20 points for the Rams and Marvin Grant-Clark added 11 points.
Andrew Palucki scored 15 points, Danny Quinn 14 points and John Solari 12 points for the Hawks, who received all but 2 of their points from the starting lineup.
“From our scouting their goal is to shoot between 25 and 30 3s,” said Maine South coach Tony Lavorato Jr. “What we wanted to do was contest the 3, but we really wanted to stop the lane scoring. I thought we were able to do that much better after the first period.”
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