Maine East topples South Elgin

Composure might well have been the key word for the Maine East boys basketball team en route to its 65-55 win over nonconference opponent South Elgin on Saturday night.

The host Demons (13-4) jumped out to a commanding lead in the first quarter thanks to 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. But the Storm continued to nip at their heels, despite falling behind by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.

South Elgin (10-4) narrowed the gap to 3 with 6 minutes remaining in the final quarter, but was never able to take over the lead.

"We talked a lot about keeping our composure regardless of the situation," Maine East coach Glenn Olson said. "South Elgin is a team that makes runs. We knew that would happen, so I don't think we ever really felt comfortable, we just had to keep playing."

The Storm had a difficult time controlling Maine East's Nuse Kahn, who scored a game-high 22 points. It didn't help that South Elgin's 6-foot-9 center, Daniel Lopez, sat out much of the game in foul trouble.

"He's tough to move," Olson said of Lopez. "Not having him out there was nice. His teammates really stepped up and picked him up, though."

South Elgin coach Chaz Taft lost his composure for a moment too long in the fourth quarter, picking up a technical foul and putting the Demons in commanding position. Kahn sunk both free throws and Maine East never looked back.

"We came out to a good lead and they got back into it," Kahn said. "But our coach kept telling us to keep our composure. We started playing good and we all kept our composure to pick up the 'W.'"

Jordan Dobler tallied 12 points to lead the Storm in scoring. Jeffrey Lewis added 11 more off the bench.