Hoffman Estates charges past Streamwood
Hoffman Estates boys basketball team was charged up about a chance to erase a tough weekend in Tuesday night’s nonconference game at Streamwood.
And 5-foot-7 junior guard Takuro Azumaya provided a nice jolt when he took a pair of charging fouls in a two-minute span.
“That was beautiful,” said Hoffman coach Luke Yanule of Azumaya’s defensive spark.
So was the rest of the night for the Hawks (3-3) as they bounced back from 30- and 22-point losses with a 59-46 win at Streamwood. Senior Austin Terry led the way offensively with 16 points.
“We made a lot of mistakes, especially against (Rolling) Meadows,” Yanule said of Saturday’s 65-43 loss. “Our kids were really frustrated and disappointed in themselves.
“We had a great day of practice mentally on Monday and came out focused. I was proud of our effort, especially defensively.”
Yanule also liked the defense he got from Alex Bonds, before he injured his ankle in the second quarter, Connor Schwarz and Sammy Wilks off the bench.
Hoffman was up 27-17 at halftime and exceeded Yanule’s goal of extending the lead to 15 after three quarters by making it 44-28.
“These kids are so receptive to teaching and learning,” Yanule said. “They really want to learn and get better and I thought they took a huge step.
“It’s the first game we came out strong in the third quarter. It shows their character.”
Brian Cvitkovich and Schwarz added 11 points apiece and junior Darion Brown scored 8 points as the Hawks faced primarily a man-to-man defense for the first time this season.
“They were salivating at the mouth for it,” Yanule said.
Maine West 51, Deerfield 49: An 11-point first half and 9-for-23 free-throw shooting weren’t exactly routes to success for Maine West in its Central Suburban North opener.
But Maine West (3-3) overcame them and snapped a three-game losing streak with the road victory at Deerfield. Conor Hart led a balanced attack for the winners with 15 points as Kevin Garcia scored 11, Dylan Carson added 10 and Cody Zimmerman chipped in 8 points.