Shields' 30 not nearly enough for Bulldogs

Maine East came out with the perfect start for a Grant boys basketball team that came into Park Ridge with a perfect record Tuesday night.

Opening the nonconference game with a 10-point run and 16 of the first 19 points put the Blue Demons in control they never lost in a 76-52 victory.

"As a team we came out slow and dug a hole we couldn't get out of early," said Grant senior guard Mike Shields, who had a game-high 30 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. "That's been our problem all season. We have to work on that so we won't always have to come back from being down.

"The biggest problem is you come down and have to waste so much energy to get back in the game."

And the closest the Bulldogs (4-1) could get after the first seven minutes was 39-28 early in the second half.

"Our kids weren't ready mentally to play," said Grant coach Phil Ralston. "They (Maine East) are physically tough and athletic.

"Any time you don't show up ready to play a team like that you've got to expect to be down quick."

Maine East (4-1) showed up with plenty of energy and used its man-to-man to score off the first 5 of 19 turnovers it forced.

Point guard Dwight Davis (9 points) and 6-foot-4 Avery Roche (12 points, 10 rebounds) had 4 points apiece and junior Danhi Wilson (23 points) hit 2 free throws to cap a 10-0 start finally stopped by Shields' 3-point play.

"Our kids have bought in and they're working very hard defensively," said first-year Maine East coach Glenn Olson, an all-area guard at Rolling Meadows in 1994. "We tell them our defense sets the tone for everything else we do and they've made a commitment to work hard."

The Demons also limited their turnovers to 14 and had nice balance as Nuse Khan and Shareq Khan came off the bench to score 14 points apiece.

Shields was 12-for-25 from the field but the rest of the Bulldogs were 10-for-26. Nick Mason was the second-leading scorer with 6 points.

"I told the kids at the end of the game that Mike shouldn't feel like he has to carry the load," Ralston said. "We have other kids who are talented enough to make their contributions and they didn't step up tonight.

"We know that's not the formula for winning ballgames for us this season."