Hoffman Estates hangs on against Schaumburg
Hoffman Estates' boys basketball team got clutch free throw shooting down the stretch from Rudra Patel, Marquez Woodard and Adrian Punzalan to help them hold off a fierce Schaumburg rally and capture a 57-56 Mid-Suburban West decision on Friday.
After visiting Schaumburg erased a 42-28 deficit in the third quarter, the Saxons (7-14, 2-5) got within 1 twice in the fourth on the tenacious play of guard Michael Hodges (game-high 22). But after two missed free throws by Hoffman (9-9, 2-5), Heze Trotter's tough-look, length-of-the-court driving layup attempt fell off the rim at the buzzer. Trotter finished with 21.
Hoffman's defense keyed the win, as even when their offense went flat, they managed to force turnovers and get crucial defensive rebounds when they needed them.
In several crucial second-half sequences, Hoffman was able to draw charges on the Saxons, who were attacking the basket aggressively during their rally.
"We talked at halftime about that, taking those charges," said Hoffman coach Luke Yanule. "That was a big key."
As was their defense most of the evening. "It was pretty solid. And we did a good job in the boards," he noted.
Next up for the Hawks is a Monday matchup against Round Lake.
St. Viator 62, Notre Dame 49: The Lions stayed perfect in the East Suburban Catholic Conference race by winning in Niles.
St. Viator improved to 16-4 overall and 5-0 in the league.
Maine West 61, Deerfield 57: The Central Suburban North co-leaders protected their share of the divisional lead, improving to 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the league with a win at Deerfield.
Hersey 66, Elk Grove 44: Rocco Ronzio paced a balanced scoring effort by the host Huskies in an MSL East victory.
Ronzio finished with a game-high 17 points, which included a pair of 3s and 3-for-4 at the foul line. Davis Belford contributed 12 points and Jason Schmidt 10 for Hersey (7-13, 5-2).
Dylan Ingebrigtsen paced Elk Grove (2-19, 0-7) with 13 points and Tyler Selvig finished with 11, including three 3s.