Maine West, Palatine pick up season-opening wins
Maine West got off to a winning start in the boys basketball tournament it is hosting, topping Chicago Math and Science Charter 68-31 on Tuesday for a victory in its season opener.
The Warriors were able to get turnovers in bunches, finishing with 24. That led to transition baskets and balanced scoring.
Alan Rathappill led all scorers with 14 points and Julian Dones had 13. Randy Kent contributed 8 points and Stefan Balaban had 7.
"Everyone got involved, so that was good," said Maine West coach John Bongiorno. "I thought our defense ended up causing some problems for them, and our pressure after made baskets was effective."
In the other tournament game at Maine West, Maine South topped Prosser 60-43.
The action continues Wednesday for the Warriors with a 6:30 p.m. contest against Libertyville.
Palatine 66, Waubonsie Valley 51: Chris Refka and Matt Mayer both scored 15 points to help tournament host Palatine win its season opener.
Matt Ulrich scored 11 points and Charlie Van Dyke had 10 for the Pirates.
Both teams were without their full complement of players after both schools were involved in the Class 8A football semifinals last weekend.
Refka made a pair of 3s for Palatine and Mayer had 1.
Lamon Berry scored 9 points as the Pirates used a 24-12 scoring edge in the third quarter to pull ahead.
Jacobs 62, Rolling Meadows 53: Cameron Krutwig came up with a game-high 26 points to pace the Golden Eagles in tournament play at Palatine.
Junior forward Jared Murphy scored a team-best 13 points and senior guard Matt Wojcik scored 12 for the Mustangs (0-2).
Elk Grove 81, Mundelein 55: Joey Gatziolis scored a game-high 24 points, all in the first three quarters, as the Grenadiers cruised at Mundelein.
Bradley Hubly added 18 points, sinking four 3-pointers, and Fulton Wingba had 13 for Elk Grove (1-1), which led 23-14 after one quarter, 46-30 at halftime and 68-45 after three.
Mundelein (0-2) was led by Aaron Woolford's 19 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. The Mustangs received 8 points apiece from Tommy Marcotte and Andrew Silva.
Uplift 61, Fremd 56: Freshman guard Davarion Jacobs poured in a game-high 23 points, as the Titans rallied for their second win in a row at Mundelein.
Sophomore Toraze Dobbs and Demarius Jacobs chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Uplift (2-0), which trailed 43-42 after three quarters before outscoring the Vikings 19-13 in the fourth.
Fremd (1-1) was led by Kyle Sliwa's 15 points and Patrick Benka's 13. Ten players scored for the Vikings.
Warren 37, Lake Forest Academy 36: The team defensive effort was old-school Warren boys basketball.
The 3-pointer by sophomore guard Branden Ellis was simply clutch.
The Blue Devils picked up their first win under new head coach Jon Jasnoch, as Ellis' shot from beyond the arc with five seconds left was the difference in a 37-36 decision over Lake Forest Academy on Day 2 of Mundelein's Thanksgiving tournament Tuesday night.
"It feels pretty darn good," said Jasnoch, who coached for 15 years under former Warren coach Chuck Ramsey and then the last three under Ryan Webber. "There are things we want to work on, but winning is a lot better than losing."
After Ellis' 3, LFA, trailing by a point, called timeout with 4.1 seconds on the clock. Chris Harris, whose 22 points led all scorers, got the ball for the Caxys and was guarded by Juwan Perry as he attacked the basket.
"Juwan did a great job moving his feet without fouling (Harris)," Jasnoch said. "He stayed with him."
After a scrum, Warren's Maurice Chambers got a hand on the ball to deflect it away and time expired.
"We always talk about winning games with defense," Jasnoch said. "We scored and now we got to play defense for four seconds. The guys did a good job."
Perry led Warren (1-1) with 9 points, including a pair of 3s. Josh Pelland and Chambers added 8 and 7 points, respectively.
"We're still finding our way offensively," Jasnoch said. "But we got some kids that can score."
Niles West 54, Hersey 39: The host school held the Huskies to 4 points in the third quarter in handing Hersey its first loss.
Joe Coffaro and Zack Cooper both finished with 11 points to lead Hersey (1-1) in scoring. Michale Lelito contributed 10 points, which included a pair of 3-points.
Don Asunscion led all scorers with 13 points for the Wolves, and Aaron Flowers had 12 points.
Grayslake Central 72, Christian Liberty 35: Jack Beckman scored a game-high 17 points to help the Rams improve to 2-0 in touranment play at Buffalo Grove.
Mark Cabrera led Christian Liberty (0-2) in scoring for the second game in a row with 8 points. Steve Ringstrand and Jesse Castro both had 6.
In the tourney's other game Tuesday, Niles North handled Marmion 82-63.
Waukegan 52, Hoffman Estates 40: The Hawks dropped to 0-2 after falling for the second straight day in tournament play hosted by Grant High School. Grant topped Hoffman Estates 61-58 in Monday's opener.