Hoffman coach Wandro notches 300th win

Hoffman Estates did all the little things on Friday night at Crystal Lake Central's Coaches vs. Cancer Thanksgiving tournament, giving the Hawks and coach Bill Wandro a big win.

Wandro picked up his 300th career victory as Hoffman (2-0) took control early and cruised to a 56-33 victory over Prairie Ridge.

"It's one of those things you know about, but you don't really think about it," said Wandro who is beginning his 18th year at Hoffman. "I told the guys it just a matter of perseverance - if you're around long enough, you're going to get a few wins."

Hoffman made it look easy on Friday as four Hawks notched double digits in scoring, and the defense limited the Wolves to 33 percent shooting (10-for-30) in the final three quarters.

"His wife told me about the 300 wins coming up, so I knew I'd have to play extra hard," said Hawks senior forward Chris Hall, who scored a team high 15 points. "It was real exciting."

"It's always nice to get a coach a 300th win," added senior forward Tom Dombrowski, who helped the Hawks to a 30-16 rebound advantage with 6 boards. "We're coming along - it'll get more smooth as we go."

Senior Luke Mead (10 points), junior Brandon Fischer (11 points), and junior Kevin Tiongson (10 points) all contributed to Hoffman's balanced scoring.

Ryan Doohly scored inside, giving Prairie Ridge (1-1) a 9-8 lead midway through the opening quarter, but Hoffman Estates reeled off 9 straight points in taking a 17-11 advantage into the second quarter.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Fischer scored 6 points in an 8-2 run, pushing the Hawks' lead to 25-13.

The defense also came alive, frustrating the Wolves with Mead contributing a pair of steals and Dombrowski picking up a charge as the Hawks jumped to a commanding 31-20 halftime lead.

"They're good," said Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card of the Hoffman Estates attack. "They are farther ahead than I've seen a lot teams at this time of year with their discipline and little things in the game."

Hoffman also did the job on the free throw line, converting 15 of 18 shots as the Hawks entered the final quarter with a 43-31 advantage.

Junior Chad Ljunggren scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Wolves' attack, and Hoffman Estates got a boost from junior Lance Vesper off the bench with 5 rebounds.