Hoffman finishes off Prairie Ridge

Hoffman Estates has shown it has the pieces to have a successful season. Now the Hawks are looking to put them all together.

Hoffman Estates jumped out to an early 11 point lead in the second quarter, then watched Prairie Ridge trim the advantage to a single point in the fourth quarter.

But the Hawks converted 6-of-8 free throws in the final 70 seconds in securing a 56-50 victory Saturday over Prairie Ridge in the third annual Coaches vs. Cancer Thanksgiving Tournament at Crystal Lake Central.

Senior Jimmy Fabbrini scored 14 points and senior Kevin Tiongson added 13 points in helping Hoffman Estates improve to 3-0.

"It has been one or two different guys in helping win each game," said Hoffman Estates coach Bill Wandro of the Hawks' flexible attack. "That is going to be the strength of this team - you are not going to be able to look at one or two guys, you're going to have to stop 12 guys."

Hoffman Estates jumped out to a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter with Fabbrini nailing a 3 from midcourt at the buzzer.

The Hawks continued to look solid early in the second quarter with Tiongson hitting a 3 to increase the lead to 25-14.

But Kevin Kaczmarski scored 7 of his game high 19 points in the second quarter in helping the Wolves narrow the deficit to 32-24 at halftime.

Prairie Ridge (1-2) kept the pressure on in the third quarter, chipping away at the Hawks' lead and entered the final quarter trailing 40-35.

Mac Curtis started the fourth quarter with a driving layup, followed by two from Kaczmarski to help Prairie Ridge cut the lead to 40-39 with 6:57 remaining.

But Fabbrini answered with a basket and Tiongson scored on a drive and converted the ensuing free throw to give the Hawks a 45-39 cushion.

Chad Ljunggren scored 9 of his 15 points in the final quarter to keep Prairie Ridge close and his 2 free throws with 1:39 remaining trimmed the Wolves' deficit to 50-48.

But Thomas Iheme, Tiongson and Joe Valadez each converted a pair of crucial free throws in the waning moments to preserve the Hawks' victory.

"The first two games we were always chasing from behind," said Tiongson, whose team never trailed in Saturday's contest. "It was very important for us to close it out tonight. We took care of the ball in the final quarter."