BG hopes Newman makes big impact
Buffalo Grove has been vertically challenged during its run of four 20-win seasons.
Senior Matt Newman is trying to change that as the 6-0 Bison visit 5-1 Prospect at 7:30 p.m. today in a meeting of last year's Mid-Suburban East boys basketball champions.
The 6-foot-7 Newman, who missed most of last season because of injury, just missed a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 40 seconds to go in Saturday's 51-48 win over Palatine.
"I feel like I contributed a lot more offensively (Saturday)," said Newman, who is averaging 5.8 points a game. "My main role is defense and to get a couple of baskets if I can."
BG coach Ryan O'Connor would gladly take Newman's numbers from Saturday on a regular basis.
"When he comes out focused and plays hard he plays great," O'Connor said. "When he doesn't play focused he doesn't play well.
"He gave us a great effort (Saturday). That's how he's played when he's played well."
The Bison hope to see it again from Newman tonight against Prospect's versatile 6-7 Kevin Reed.
"Sometimes I get a little too into the game and kind of lose focus," Newman said. "This year I haven't had any games where I've gotten too out of control."
Not having any games so far in the loss column is a surprise to many since BG suffered big graduation losses that included all-area captain Brian DeSimone and all-area players Paul Timko and Mike Ricciardi.
BG is succeeding by allowing only 43 points a game and using a balanced attack with junior Mike Cornely (12.3 ppg), senior James Hurley (11.0) and junior guard Kevin Mulligan (9.5).
Sophomore guard Nick Prus came back last weekend from minor knee surgery before the season and added to the Bison depth with a pair of 5-point games.
"A lot of people were saying we weren't going to be as good this year," Newman said. "The only people who disagreed with it was us."
Too much, too fast: Prospect was its own worst enemy at times in Friday's 66-58 victory at Hersey.
The Knights never trailed despite committing a whopping 29 turnovers.
"Our problem is with trying to make incredible plays and trying to make amazing passes instead of good passes," said Prospect senior Kevin Reed, as Hersey cut a 17-point deficit to 50-44 midway through the fourth quarter. "We kind of buckled down and realized if we're going to win this game we have to step it up right now."
Prospect coach John Camardella said one of the keys for a team averaging 21 turnovers a game is knowing when to step on the gas and when to hit the brakes.
"I felt like we were so excited to play Joe's (66-63 double overtime loss to St. Joseph in the season opener) and we were so sped up," Camardella said. "This game was the same thing. The speed of our transition offense was the same speed as our half-court offense.
"It was our first East game on the road and we were pretty amped up. We have to make sure the tempo in the full-court is not the same we saw in the half-court."
Closing the gap: Palatine was just inches away from making up a 9-point deficit in the final 2:23 when a 3-pointer was just long at the buzzer in Saturday's 51-48 loss to Palatine.
"We're definitely getting better," said Palatine senior Matt Rossi after scoring 12 points in his first weekend back from a groin injury.
"We had a great look at it," said Palatine coach Eric Millstone after his team's first game not decided by double digits. "With no timeouts left, to execute it, I'm proud of that."
The Pirates also had to battle out of a 9-point hole to start the game to take a 27-26 lead just before halftime.
Now it's a matter of finding consistency, which will be helped when Rossi gets his stamina back for his third varsity season.
"We've played well at times throughout the year but we haven't sustained it," Millstone said. "Once we get to that point we'll have some fun. We'll get there."
Palatine also got an impressive effort from 6-3 junior Mykyta Cheshko, who had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"He's a kid who can do things (athletically)," Millstone said. "We haven't had a kid like that in awhile."
Still growing: The early schedule hasn't been kind to Hersey, with losses to unbeaten Neuqua Valley and Schaumburg and 1-loss teams Morton and Prospect.
Some of the Huskies' youth and inexperience showed as it trailed 28-11 late in the first half of a 66-58 loss to Prospect.
"Prospect played much more confident than us," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "There are still some cracks we wanted to expose but we were unable to take advantage of those."
Junior Kyle Miklasz scored 24 against Prospect and 19 against Schaumburg and leads the Huskies at 15.2 points a game. His sophomore brother Connor is averaging 8.3 a game.
But Messer won't be too patient even though senior Kyle Mengarelli (11.8 ppg) and junior Steve Nelson have been the only experienced returnees on the floor so far.
"We have some correctable things to fix and we have to fix them fast to get on the right track quickly," Messer said. "The biggest thing is I don't want it to take awhile."
No letup: One fear for coaches is having a big early lead dwindle because of complacency.
St. Viator didn't have that problem in Tuesday night's 66-45 win over York. A 21-point run resulted in a 21-2 lead and a game that never got closer than 13 points.
"Last year it happened a lot where we'd be close or up in the fourth quarter and let it slide," said senior guard K.J. Sherwood, who came off the bench to score 11 points. "We made that one of our focuses this year. We can't let those games slip."
Not letting up without the ball was a big key for a team allowing 47 points a game.
"That's always our staple here," said Viator senior Bryce Hensley. "Playing good 'D' and playing tough 'D.'"
The Lions will need more of it in a tough East Suburban Catholic Conference weekend with a long trip to Marian Catholic on Friday night and a visit from St. Patrick at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
"It helped a little bit," said Viator coach Joe Majkowski of the week layoff after a 63-55 loss to St. Joseph. "Now we've got a stretch with these three this week and next weekend four games in five days (at Carmel and Hersey and the first two rounds of the Wheeling tournament).
"But that's what this time of year is all about."
Meet me in St. Louis: Schaumburg will be part of the second annual Midwest Showdown High School Basketball Shootout at 5 p.m. Saturday at Normandy High School in St. Louis.
The Saxons will face Francis Howell from the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles in the eight-game event that includes Illinois teams Providence-St. Mel, Foreman, East St. Louis and Decatur MacArthur.
Francis Howell returned seven of its top eight players from a 17-11 team and was ranked in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's top 10.
Celebrating a milestone: Alex Regalado helped Leyden make the 2,000th game in the history of its program - including East Leyden - a success.
Regalado scored 24 points, and Anthony Cushion and Michael Woolf added 10 apiece as the Eagles beat Lincoln-Way Central 53-47 last Saturday in Franklin Park.
Leyden is now 1,210-790 (. 605 winning percentage) since the school opened in 1925.
Leyden stat guru Jack Gregg was also honored at halftime.
Hardwood Classic pairings: Pairings for Wheeling's 31st annual Hardwood Classic are expected to be out Friday. They will be available on the school website's tournament page at whs.d214.org/results/hardwood.