Fenton piles up points against Maine West
Don't expect 60 points a game from Fenton's boys basketball team.
For one night, though, the Bison gladly will take it.
In a much-needed tuneup for two rusty teams, a fourth-quarter offensive burst powered Fenton to a 63-50 win over Maine West in Tuesday's nonconference game in Bensenville.
"This is the first time all year we've had three players in double figures," said Fenton coach Dennis Cromer, whose team hit 60 points for just the third time this season. "I think it was just one of those nights where we shot the ball better than we have most of the year."
Vince Esposito led the streak. The senior scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and nailed four 3-pointers as the Bison (6-8) emerged from a 13-day layoff. Maine West hadn't played since Dec. 26.
Fenton leading scorer Dan Montano scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half. Sebastian Baran, who's averaging about 6 points per game, added 14 points.
"We played really well tonight thanks to (Baran and Montano)," Esposito said. "We don't always play to our potential, and tonight we did. We had a great second half and finished the game strong."
The combination of Esposito, Montano and Baran proved too much for Maine West (4-9), which especially struggled with its shooting in the second half. The Warriors managed only 20 second-half points on 6-of-27 shooting.
Alex Samuelson scored late in the third quarter to pull the Warriors within 41-38, but Fenton scored the first 7 points of the fourth quarter to pull ahead 48-38. Montano capped the run with a 3-pointer.
Samuelson scored 15 points for Maine West, 10 coming in the first half. Odera Eneogwe came off the bench to add 11 points.
The Warriors led by as many as 7 points in the first quarter and didn't trail until early in the third quarter. With the poor shooting, though, all it took was one Fenton run to forge a significant fourth-quarter lead.
Maine West had its chances to narrow the gap in the final minutes, but Fenton's 8 free throws in the final 1 minute, 29 seconds sealed the outcome.
"All of a sudden we went in a dry spell and couldn't buy a basket," said Maine West coach Erik McNeill. "We weren't able to get that basket or get that stop. They hit some nice shots, and credit to them."