Maine South balance proves too much for Niles West

All five starters score in double figures for Hawks

All five starters scored in double figures for the Maine South boys basketball team as it came in and put a damper on Niles West’s Senior Night, pounding the Wolves 74-44 in a Central Suburban League South game in Skokie.

Maine South (23-5, 7-3 in CSL South) spread the ball around on offense and tightened up its defense to get back on the winning track after a loss last week against New Trier ended a nine-game winning streak. Niles West (11-13, 2-8) couldn’t find a way to stop Maine South and it had even more trouble trying to get a shot to drop throughout the contest.

Niles West sunk its first field goal attempt of the game and it would be the only time the Wolves would lead as the Hawks followed with a 9-2 run that put them in front for the remainder of the contest. Maine South coach Tony Lavorato said he liked the way his team came out and took it to Niles West .

"We needed to get better this week and I think the boys showed they did," Lavorato said. "The game after a loss is the most important because you have to come back. We had to sit on this loss for a week, so after a good week of practice, I was excited at how we responded tonight.

"The players shared the ball and played some very tough defense," he added. "It’s exciting when you have five players in double figures because it shows a true team effort."

The Hawks went ahead 18-11 after one quarter behind the long-range shooting of senior guard Justin Wasik and senior Pat Maher (11 points), but it was the busy play of P.J. Killean who helped Maine South increase that advantage to 41-18 at the half.

Killean scored seven of his nine first -half points in the second quarter to go along with his four rebounds and three assists before halftime. The 6-3 senior finished with 11 points. Niles West tried to use a pressure defense to hold down Maine South, but the result was early layups for the Hawks rather than misguided passes and shots. Junior forward Matt Palucki also picked up several easy buckets and crashed the boards for seven rebounds along the way. He and Wasik each scored 14 points to lead the Hawks.

"We were trying to get our post play in the game plan and we had a lot of success with it," Palucki said. "I was on the receiving end of a lot of good passes and I tried not to dribble a lot and just take the ball to the basket, and it worked out well.

"This was a solid game where we were really sharing the ball. It’s good to see that kind of play this time of year."

Justin Tworek added 10 points for the Hawks to complete the double-figure scoring from the starters.

Senior guard Chris McNichols led Niles West with 12 points, canning three shots from long range. Senior guard Lorenzo Fiol scored seven points in his last home game, while juniors Donte Logan chipped in six and Tony Pierce added five.