Saxons top Rolling Meadows

Things couldn't get much more difficult for Schaumburg than they did Saturday night at home against Rolling Meadows.

Starting center George Kalousek went down with a badly sprained ankle in period two and did not return. Junior sharpshooter Cully Payne was not having his best night, struggling with his touch against Meadows' physical defense.

And everyone was in foul trouble, with key contributors Mick Trimarco and Dan Slowik eventually fouling out. The Saxons were already nursing center Blake Mueller back from injury by incrementally increasing his minutes, game to game, so depth suddenly became a problem.

But winning didn't.

Despite Meadows' gritty, determined effort, the Saxons escaped with a 68-61 Mid-Suburban League crossover victory, thanks in good part to their free-throw shooting and clamp-down defensive effort.

"This was a grind-it-out, physical game," said Saxons (5-2) coach Bob Williams, a tad surprised at that because both teams like to get out, use their athleticism and run.

What he did find out was his team can play a half-court game if necessary and guys like Trimarco and Mueller can come off the bench make a big, big difference.

In a game where 57 fouls were called, Schaumburg hit 25-of-38 free throws, including 13-of-15 to pull away from a 2-point lead after three quarters.

Payne did much of the damage there. While his shot wasn't falling, just 1-of-5 in the second half, his free throws were, 6-of-7 in the fourth and 11-of-14 overall.

"I shoot enough of them in practice," he quipped, noting that Meadows' did a good job on him defensively. Kyle Gaedele, Trevor Fritz and several others bodied up on him all game long, making it difficult to get good looks.

But Slowik's 5 field goals without a miss in the second half and Mueller's 3-of-4 in that span spelled victory. However, the defense made the difference.

"Our defense really picked up," said Payne, in a game in which he noted, "It showed our defense can pick up and help us out."

Meadows, however, looked at the game as a real missed opportunity to pick off a good team on its home court. A few crucial execution breakdowns were critical, said coach Kevin Katovich.

"Our kids played very hard and I'm proud of them," he said, but 24 turnovers, 15 in the second half, were killers.

Still, the Mustangs (4-3) kept the pressure on, with Gaedele leading all scorers with 23 points and a couple of sweet drives. Ty Kirk, in foul trouble early, finished with 13 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and Ted Metzger came off the bench to personally shoot the Mustangs ahead at halftime.