Glenbard South's tough enough, turns back Maine S.

Glenbard South scampered past Maine South, then weathered a rally to win 68-53 on Monday at York's Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

Despite a scoreless first quarter from top scorer Jordan Harks, the diverse Raiders (8-2) gained a 16-5 lead and were safe until Maine South crept within 56-47 in the last four minutes.

"I was very pleased with the start," said Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke, whose 8-2 Raiders play the host Dukes for fifth place at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

"We were able to come out and kind of establish a tone and a pace," he said. "They tried to slow us down a little bit. They did it at times, but for the most part we were able to maintain the pace that we wanted."

The pace Maine South (7-4) desired was typified by 6-foot-7 junior Kevin Schlitter's effective post moves.

Like Harks, Schlitter scored zip in the first quarter. The Hawks made just 2 of 12 shots while committing 7 turnovers in that time.

Hampered by early foul trouble, Schlitter's team-high 14 points came in the next two quarters before he fouled out with 39.7 seconds left in the third quarter and Maine South down 49-34.

Coach Tony Lavorato Jr. saw the funk as a product of "the game after the game"; the Hawks had led tourney finalist St. Ignatius by a point entering the fourth quarter. Still, the numbers were glaring: 19 of 52 shooting, 13 of 24 free throws.

"Frankly, this is a toss-out game for us," Lavorato said. "We need to erase this from our memory and hit the reset button and get after it."

Maine South got after it a bit, even as Glenbard South's Sam Mitchell and Harks did. Mitchell finished with 12 points, Harks with 25 to follow tourney games of 29 and 31.

Glenbard South led 52-36 after three quarters then saw the lead slip to 56-47 as Maine South's Justin Wasik and Matt Perez got active.

Harks made it 58-47 with 3:15 to play when Hardtke took time.

"He called timeout and we just got back on it," Harks said. "We were only up eleven, so we knew to get out there and just finish it out."

Starting with Ralondo Shumate's pass to Louis Erkins for a fastbreak basket and including a Harks dunk off an Erkins' pass, the Raiders enjoyed a decisive 10-2 run.

"We were trying to beat them down the floor," Hardtke summarized, "and for the most part I think we did a good job there."