Maine West's super tandem too much for VH
Maine West unveiled its dynamic duo, Jack Framke and Jon Beaver, in the Warriors' home 79-65 win over Vernon Hills on Friday.
The win puts the Warriors at 4-2 and 2-0 in the Central Suburban North, while the Cougars dropped to 2-6 and 0-2.
Framke had a career night, scoring 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field.
Beaver, a 6-foot-6 senior, scored 6 points but led the team in rebounds with 9 and had 4 blocked shots.
"I had some easy shots early," said Framke. "It got my confidence going. I really just played my game and the shots just fell."
The Warriors, who host Palatine Saturday afternoon, were a little short handed with illness and a few healthy scratches by coach Tom Prokopij.
Maine West started out fast opening a 15-9 lead before coach Matt McCarty called time out for the Cougars.
Vernon Hills closed the gap to 21-20 after one quarter. with balanced scoring.
Following Faraz Bashir's 3, Maine West led 26-20 with 7:00 left in the first half.
A basket by Chris Mariella, who scored a career-high 24 points, closed the gap to 26-25 with 5:30 left in the quarter.
After that it was all Warriors. Maine West strung together a 16-0 run, of which Framke scored 6, to build a 42-25 lead with :36 left. Jack O'Connell hit 2 free throws for Vernon Hills with :16 left to stop a 5:14 scoreless streak.
"We got great ball help on defense," said Beaver. "We were talking on defense and we kept them away from the basket during that run. One thing I can say about this team is that we have great communication in practice and during the game.
"I still need to get better on defense, like blocking out a little better and being able to help on offense"
The third quarter saw Maine West open 60-36 and 65-41 leads, The Warriors coasted to the finish.
"Our offense will take care of itself if we do a few things right," said Prokopji. "We have to rebound, play defense, communicate and be active with our hands.
"Can Framke have games like this? Yes, he can - and he can be one of our go-to guys, We still have some roles to learn. We're getting more confident."
Stefan Balaban added 10 points, and Jack Collins and Matt Kentgen (7 rebounds) both scored 8 points.
Jack Forester was in double figures for Vernon Hills with 11 and O'Connell finished with 8.
"We're still working on getting our team chemistry going," said Mariella. "We're not jelling as a team yet. We just need to get a couple wins together. We think as a team that it will come."