Streamwood 68, Maine East 66
The way the Sabres figured it, they had one coming.
Streamwood's boys basketball team entered Wednesday's nonconference game against visiting Maine East with 7 losses but only 1 by double-digits (74-63 at Neuqua Valley). Three losses were by a combined total of 7 points.
The game with Maine East, which featured 9 lead changes, likewise came down the wire and could have gone either way. Thanks to 2 Tem Esikiel free throws with 21 seconds left and a missed 3-pointer by the Blue Demons with 5 ticks remaining, it went the Sabres' way with a 68-66 victory.
"We found a way to get a win. We needed that," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "We've been in a lot of close games, so it's about time something goes our way."
Streamwood (3-7) trailed 62-61 until Brian Domokos regained the lead with a bucket in the paint with 2:36 to play.
"I just had my adrenaline going," said Domokos, who scored all 6 of his points in the final quarter.
The Sabres took a 65-62 lead with 1:13 remaining on a putback of his own miss by junior Marcus Lewis (7 points, 7 rebounds).
Maine East (5-3), which had won 2 straight over Highland Park and Niles North, pulled within a point when Danhi Wilson took a feed in the lane from Nus Khan and scored a layup with 47 seconds to play. Wilson scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.
After Streamwood missed a bonus free throw, Khan sliced through the lane and hit a runner with 26 seconds to play, which gave Maine East its last lead at 66-65.
However, the Blue Demons made a mistake by fouling Esikiel as he brought the ball up the floor against pressure, sending him to the line with 21 seconds left. Esikiel hit both shots to give the Sabres the lead for good.
Khan, a slicing point guard who makes the Maine East offense run by penetrating and kicking, drove diagonally through the lane and dished to Wilson in the corner for a 3-point attempt. However, the shot was a touch long and the high-arcing rebound skipped to the far side of the court and into the hands of Lewis.
"I saw it coming off," Lewis said of the carom. "Coach Jones is always telling me to get in there and get more rebounds, so I went after it."
Lewis was immediately fouled with 1 second showing on the clock and split 2 free throws for the final margin. Maine South inbounded by couldn't get a shot off before the horn sounded.
"It was a good win," said Esikiel, who scored 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. "We deserved it. We played hard. We were knocking down shots (25 of 57), playing defense and hitting free throws when it counted. That's all that matters."
Streamwood led 38-30 at halftime after forcing 12 Blue Demons turnovers, but Maine East charged back into the game with a 13-point third quarter from Wilson, a barrage that included three 3-pointers.
Streamwood guard Brian Brauer finished with 10 points and Marcus Green came off the bench to contribute 10 points and make 3 steals.
Khan finished with 20 points for Maine East.