Hoffman handles Guilford, snaps skid

ROCKTON, Ill. - The Hoffman Estates boys basketball team put an end to its four-game skid on Monday night, defeating Rockford Guilford 71-54 to close its stay at the sixth annual Martin Luther King Shootout at Hononegah High School.

The Hawks (14-5) entered the game winless in the tournament, including a 57-53 loss to host Hononegah earlier Monday.

Senior guard Luke Mead led the team in scoring in both games, racking up 25 points against Hononegah and 17 against Guilford. He recorded 3 steals in the first three minutes of the nightcap that resulted in 6 points, setting the stage for the victory.

"We just had to come together as a team and play hard," Mead said of the team's lone victory at the tournament. "We played some of the top teams in the state this weekend. We're a little disappointed with all the games we lost, but they were all pretty close. We're pretty happy with our performance."

Senior Chris Hall added 10 points and juniors Brandon Fischer and Kevin Tiongson added 8 points each off the bench.

Hawks coach Bill Wandro was pleased not only with the victory, but the way his team stood tall with some of the top competition in the state.

"We had some really good games here," Wandro said. "Three out of our four games met expectations. We just had unfortunate finishes in two of them.

"I think we're a team that has a little bit to learn, but we have a lot of weapons to use the next part of the season. We learned some lessons here hopefully that will take us through the rest of the way."

Hoffman will look to put those lessons to use in their next three games, all against conference opponents.