Orlowski makes big impact for Maine West

The Maine West boys' basketball team had been struggling to come up big this season.

Despite winning their last game 48-44 over Niles North, the Warriors were still looking for that mammoth performance Tuesday night, as they hosted visiting Leyden in nonconference action.

That large size effort came in the form of 5-foot-8 senior guard Jimmy Orlowski.

Orlowski carried his teammates upon his smaller-sized frame as he scored 11 consecutive points in the third quarter, ultimately resulting in a 60-50 victory for Maine West.

"There comes a point in the game where you know you can't miss," said Orlowski, who had 21 points and 3 rebounds. "I was just feeling it."

Leyden (4-18) kept pace with the Warriors throughout the contest, sparked by the junior duo of Deron Guyton (19 points) and Alex Regalado (17 points) that created problems for Maine West defenders the entire game.

Maine West (6-18), however, was able to counter the Leyden tandem early with the inside presence of senior center Sargon Youssef. The 6-5 senior, who scored 9 of his 15 points in the first half, finished as the team leader in rebounds with 15 boards.

"Sargon clearly had his best game of the season tonight," Maine West coach Erik McNeill said. "He did a nice job on the boards and added a great scoring punch as well."

As the Warriors clung to a 4-point advantage early in the second half, Orlowski decided it was "that point in the game" to unleash his shooting ability.

The senior connected on three straight 3- pointers in consecutive possessions, sending the crowd to their feet. He then followed it up with a self-created layup to end the quarter with 11 straight points.

He was not done however.

With 5:20 to play, and his team up 45-43, Orlowski connected for his fifth 3, which ultimately was the difference-maker.

"We had great post passing tonight, which we never usually do," Orlowski said. "That allowed me and Adis (Kadiric) to get open looks at the basket."

For Leyden, the loss was reminiscent of its struggles this season: a solid effort that was just not quite enough to get the win.

"We scored better offensively tonight than we usually do," Eagles coach Bill Heisler said. "We need to start finishing out the games to give us something to build upon for next season."

Bartlett 79, Glenbard N. 51: Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith knows his team can be really streaky on the offensive end.

The Hawks certainly showed that Tuesday night against Glenbard North.

They missed 8 shots in the first quarter before missing a combined four during the second and third quarters. The hot shooting turned a 1-point game into a rout as Bartlett defeated the visiting Panthers 79-51 in a nonconference game.

"We're a rhythm team," Wolfsmith said. "When we're in rhythm offensively we can score a lot of points in lots of different places on the floor."

Bartlett (16-6) shot 4-for-12 in the opening quarter, allowing Glenbard North (4-16) to stay close. The Panthers were within 13-12 with 6:50 remaining in the second quarter after James Fleming hit 2 free throws.

The Hawks then took over. They went on a 17-0 run over the next 3½ minutes to take a 30-12 lead. By halftime, Bartlett led 42-19.

Marc Little and Luke Labedzki did most of the damage. Little scored 11 points, had 3 steals and dished out 3 assists in the quarter. Labedzki had 9 points, including a 5-point play with 1:41 remaining in the quarter. He hit a 3-pointer and was fouled well after the shot, the Panthers' 10th foul of the half, giving Labedzki 2 free throws.

"I felt good," said Labedzki, who finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting. "Marc was able to get me the ball a lot. I was able to make the shot in good rhythm."

The Hawks shot 11-for-14 from the field in the quarter, while the Panthers went 2-for-12.

"We called a timeout when we were down seven (19-12) and it went from seven to 18 in a minute and a half, it seemed like," Glenbard North coach Erin Dwyer said.

Bartlett increased the lead to 32 by scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the second half. The lead grew to 67-30 at the end of third quarter. The Hawks shot 7-for-8 from the floor in the quarter. The only miss was an alley-oop dunk attempt by Cory Hrynyk.

"We started hitting our shots and picking up the tempo," Labedzki said. "We just got really into it."

Little finished with 19 points, all in the second and third quarters. The junior hit 7 of his 9 shots. He added 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

-- Brian Schaumburg