Hoffman Estates makes amends, handles Streamwood

Sure, it would have been easy for the Hoffman Estates boys basketball team to coast Tuesday night in their nonconference game against Streamwood.

After all, the Hawks were at home, and school today had already been cancelled due to anticipated lousy weather.

But there was one problem - the memory of a lopsided loss in their last game, to Glenbard West over the holidays.

So instead of taking it easy, Hoffman Estates sprinted out to a 16-1 lead and never looked back, defeating the pesky Sabres 68-46.

"We were a little bit embarrassed about what happened at Glenbard West our last game, and we made a big deal all week about energy, come out, set a tone, send a message," said Hawks coach Luke Yanule, whose team improved to 5-7. "Not to Streamwood, but for ourselves.

"It's been a struggle to come out with energy this year, especially on a Tuesday night, no school tomorrow, empty gym … I commend our kids," he said. "I think they did a great job coming out with energy."

And how. The fans had barely settled into their seats before the Hawks reeled off a 13-0 run in the last 4:42 of the first quarter to take a 16-1 lead. That spurt was punctuated by a 3-pointer by junior Robert Jacobs from the top of the arc at 2:16, and a layup by senior Curtis Palucksa as the clock expired.

It was more of the same in the second quarter. Streamwood managed to cut the deficit to 21-14 thanks to a 7-0 run of its own between 3:36 and 1:35, but Hoffman Estates cancelled that with an identical 7-0 run to close the period. The key play was a 3-pointer from junior Jorden Thornton from the top of the key falling backwards with 4 seconds left, to give the Hawks a 28-14 halftime lead.

"That killed us," Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn said of the first quarter, which saw his team turn the ball over 10 times. "It's tough, but we go in spurts. When guys deviate from what we are supposed to do, that's what we look like. In that first quarter, we had guys turning the ball over, and you could see our basic skills some of the passing we made was not where it is supposed to be."

The second half was a different story for the Sabres, particularly the fourth quarter. Streamwood managed to put together an 11-3 run in a little over 2 minutes early in the period to cut the Hoffman Estates lead to 51-38. Key to that effort was a three-pointer from the right arc by junior Joey O'Halloran with 5:38 left, his third shot from long range on the evening. He led the Sabres with 16 points.

"We knew we needed to come out with some fire," O'Halloran said of his team's second-half effort. "We were trailing, so we knew we needed to come out, run some good plays, get shooters open and just hit our shots. We needed to come out with a better effort."

Streamwood, which fell to 1-14, got eight points and five rebounds from freshman Brendan Marton, along with nine points from junior Jaleel Jenkins. The Sabres shot 32 percent from the field (15-for-46).

"They showed me some signs of life there, which is good," Kowalyszyn said of second half. "We have a young team."

Jacobs led all scorers with 21 points, 14 in the second half. He noted that the Glenbard West game was motivation enough Tuesday night.

"We weren't playing together," he said. "Pass, shot, pass, shot, missed layup. We weren't boxing out. Tonight's game, we came in with a lot of energy, and we focused, and paid attention to detail. We needed this one."

Hoffman Estates shot 53 percent for the game (25-for-47), including 7-for-17 in the crucial opening quarter. Jacobs contributed seven points in the period, while senior Andrew Vesper added a three-pointer to start the game. The Hawks also outrebounded Streamwood 21-18.

Even though the Hawks have the day off from both school and practice today, they don't have long to savor Tuesday's win, as they return Mid-Suburban League West play Friday night at Palatine.

The Sabres have less time than that, as they host West Chicago on Thursday as Upstate Eight River play resumes.