Maine West has devil of a time trying to slow East
From the inside. From the outside. How do you guard a team that can score from every conceivable angle?
Maine West knew the answer was going to be hard to come by even before it made the four-mile trek to Park Ridge on Thursday night. But even after the 76-52 defeat to Maine East in the Central Suburban North, the Warriors' silent walk out of their post game meeting made it clear it still wasn't any easier to accept.
"They have all the pieces," said Maine West coach Eric McNeill. "They have shooters, rebounders, good post players, they play great defense. They're not a good matchup for us."
Not a knock against his squad, because as many area coaches and players already know or soon will, Maine East's Avery Roche and Danhi Wilson aren't good matchups for pretty much anyone. The Demons' dynamic duo combined for 34 points - with Roche scoring 13 of his 17 in the first half.
The 6-foot-4 center dominated the opening 16 minutes, grabbing 7 of his 10 rebounds and going on a personal 9-0 run as the Demons (6-3, 2-2) erased the 9-0 run Maine West (2-9, 0-4) used to open the second quarter.
"He was out there working for his points," Wilson said of Roche.
Roche was not alone. Five-9 point guard Dwight Davis finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long distance. First-year head coach Glenn Olson also received good production from Shareq Khan (7 points), Nuse Khan and Robert Dozie (6 points apiece) and Luke Dobosz (8 rebounds).
"A lot of kids played very well," Olson said.
After picking up his third foul with 6:41 remaining in the third on a charging call, Roche was forced to watch the rest of the third quarter -- minus the final 55 seconds of the period -- from the bench.
"I was mad but I knew Danhi was going to do his thing," Roche said.
Wilson didn't disappoint. The 6-3 junior with the picturesque left-handed release scored 10 of the Demons' 23 third-quarter points as Maine East's 13-point halftime lead ballooned to a 57-35 cushion after three quarters.
"First half, shots weren't falling," Wilson said after scoring 14 of his 17 in the second half. "Second half I went out there and went to the basket, got fouled, got to the free throw line. That got me going."
The Warriors never could. They took only 17 free throws to Maine East's 32, committed 10 turnovers, and converted only 38 percent (19-of-50) from the field.
Jimmy Orlowski, Sebastian Stasiakiewicz and Tommy Solis each scored 7 to lead Maine West.
With the loss, Maine West has dropped 16 consecutive conference games, dating to back to Feb. 3, 2006, when it defeated Maine East 58-49. Are the guys feeling the pressure to break that streak?
"I think so," McNeill said. "When you're losing like this, every little thing is magnified and it just seems like it's snowballing a little bit. That Niles North loss (42-37 last Friday) really hurt and I thought we'd respond a little bit better."