Hoffman Estates 47, Barrington 30

Hoffman Estates wasn't about to overlook Barrington on Friday, and the Hawks did the little things, which added up to a big victory.

Junior guard Luke Mead powered the offense early, junior forward Tom Dombrowski converted his free throws late, and the Hawks defense clamped down in between.

It all added up to a 47-30 Mid-Suburban West boys basketball win at Barrington.

Mead scored 9 of his game-high 14 points in the first half on three 3-pointers, Dombrowski (14 points) converted 8-of-10 free throws in the final quarter, and the defense limited Barrington to 22-percent shooting (8-of-37).

"Luke (Mead) scored when we needed it, Tom (Dombrowski) scored when we needed it, and everybody else played their role," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro of the victory which left it trailing Conant in the West by 1 game.

Hoffman (13-9, 6-2) travels to Conant next Friday, but Hawks took care of business on Friday.

"You can't overlook any team," Dombrowski said. "Once you do that things go downhill."

"We knew we had to focus on Barrington," added Mead, "You can't take any conference game lightly. We knew we had to take care of business and that's what we did."

Mead nailed two 3s in the first quarter including one with nine seconds left to break an 11-11 tie.

But Barrington (6-16, 1-7) responded with junior Mack Darrow (7 points) scoring inside and junior Daniel Evers (7 points) converting a pair of free throws for a 17-16 advantage with 3:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Mead then ignited an 8-1 run with his third 3 to close the first half as the Hawks jumped in front 24-18.

Hoffman then extended its advantage to 30-18 to open the third quarter, as Barrington opened the second half by going 0-for-4 and committing 2 turnovers.

"The start of the third quarter really hurt us," said Barrington coach Marty Dello. "We went four minutes without scoring. Our defense was bending and bending, but it didn't break."

Hoffman's defense was rock solid, limiting Barrington to 2-of-14 field goals in the second and third quarters, as it extended its lead to 35-22 early in the fourth.

"We like to help out on defense, like a pack," said Dombrowski of his team's defense.

Hersey 52, Elk Grove 45: For every action there is a reaction, and Friday's game between Hersey and Elk Grove was the perfect example.

With every hard-fought basket by the Grenadiers the Huskies came right back with an answer. When all was said and done visiting Hersey had walked away with a 52-45 MSL East victory and a share of the lead with Buffalo Grove and Prospect.

"It seemed like every time we struggled they would close the gap on us," said Hersey coach Steve Messer after his return to his head coaching home the last nine years. "When we pulled away it was because we were getting multiple touches from rebounding."

Both sides came out with high-energy offenses in the first quarter. Elk Grove senior Billy Hubly (game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds) scored his team's first 7 points, including a 3-pointer.

Hersey found its shots and took a 13-11 lead after the first.

The Huskies would continue to keep Elk Grove at bay in the second quarter. Dayton-bound Luke Fabrizius picked up some much-needed rebounds, giving Hersey a lot of second-chance baskets. At the break the Huskies led 25-20.

"We've been getting leads and giving them up but tonight I felt like we attacked early and kept on going," said Fabrizius.

The 6-foot-9 senior finished with a team-high 19 points and pulled in 7 rebounds.

Hersey opened up its biggest lead in the third quarter at 35-22. Opening up the barrage were Fabrizius and senior Griffin Dwyer (17 points), who hit back-to-back 3-pointers.

"I've been working on driving in practice and taking the open shots," said Dwyer. "I give our guys a lot of credit because they passed the ball well when they were double-teamed."

Elk Grove stayed close in the second half. Junior Tim Furlong (13 points) sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Hersey's lead to 6 going into the fourth quarter.

Elk Grove's run ended as Dwyer hit a 3 with two minutes remaining to seal the win for the Huskies.

"This is a big win for us because we lost to Rolling Meadows and Prospect, so we're staying in the hunt," said Dwyer.

-- Todd Mrowice

St. Viator 46, Carmel 35: If someone would have told Carmel coach Jon Baffico that visiting St. Viator would score 46 points Friday, he would have expected the Corsairs to win.

But an ice-cold start doomed Carmel to a 46-35 loss in an East Suburban Catholic Conference game.

Carmel missed its first 7 shots and fell behind 12-0. The Corsairs finished the quarter with 5 points and only added 14 points combined in the second and third quarters. Carmel played its best basketball down the stretch, scoring 16 points in the fourth and putting a brief scare into St. Viator.

Neither team had school during the day because of the weather.

"We came out like it was a snow day and that was disappointing," Baffico said. "St. Viator did a great job of taking it to us. We responded, but it was too little too late."

Camel (4-20, 1-9) rushed its shots for much of the game, thanks in part to intense defense by the Lions (9-11, 3-6). In particular, sophomore guard Alan Aboona made sure nothing came easily for Carmel.

"He can dog the ball when he wants to," Viator coach Joe Majkowski said. "He makes it tough for the opposing team to get into their offense."

On offense, Aboona knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and also made two tough shots in the lane. He finished with 12 points.

"He gets better every week," Majkowski said. "He does so many good things."

Senior Jim Platania also hit two 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 15 points.

"We were a little sloppy at the end, but we hung tough and made our free throws," Majkowski said as the Lions were 9-for-11.

-- Bob Gosman

Maine W. 48, Niles N. 44: The streak is over for Maine West.

The Warriors (5-18, 1-7) ended a 19-game Central Suburban North losing skid at Niles North (6-14, 3-5).

"It was a sigh of relief," said Maine West assistant coach Adam York of its first division win since beating Maine East 58-49 on Feb. 3, 2006.

Adis Kadiric had 14 points and 6-7 junior Tommy Solis added 11 points as the Warriors broke away from a 13-13 halftime tie by hitting 15-of-16 free throws.

Niles North held Maine West guard Jimmy Orlowski to one 3-pointer but York said "he worked his butt off and was the reason a lot of guys were open."