Bison have field day on defense
Buffalo Grove didn't make a field goal in the final 5 minutes and 30 seconds of Saturday night's Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover at Hoffman Estates.
The way the Bison were playing defense and shooting free throws, they didn't have to.
BG's stifiling 'D" shut down the Hawks attack, and the Bison hit 13 free throws down the stretch to record a 53-45 victory.
"I was pleased with our defense," said BG coach Ryan O'Connor. "We came out with a lot of energy.
"Hoffman Estates is a great team, and they came in off an emotional win last night (at Schaumburg)."
Buffalo Grove senior Mike Ricciardi scored a game-high 17 points, while Luke Mead of Hoffman scored 15, including 3 fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
"We're a good team," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro, "but if you want to be a great team, you've got to win these Saturday night games after winning Friday night.
"You've also got to take your opponent more seriously. I thought mentally we were immature, and physically we got beat up by a team that's superior to us."
Six-foot-3 senior Federico Iudica, a foreign exchange student from Italy in his first year at BG, provided an early spark with 7 first-quarter points.
"I was getting some great passes underneath the basket," said Iudica.
BG (5-1) led 27-21 at halftime and increased the advantage to 9 points with 5:30 left when Iudica (12 points) nailed a 3.
Then 2 long-range bombs from Mead brought Hoffman within 41-38.
"You can't give a player like that open looks," said O'Connor. "He's a gifted shooter, and they've got some other good shooters as well."
But that was as close as the Hawks (4-1) could get as Ricciardi sank 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch, while sophomore Kevin Mulligan hit all 6 of his fourth-quarter attempts.
"We put a big emphasis on free-throw shooting," said Mulligan.
Senior guard Brian DeSimone scored 10 for the Bison. Ben Collins and Tom Dombrowski added 8 points apiece for the Bison.
"We got to within 3," said Wandro, "but we couldn't close the door, and that's a testament to the leadership of a couple of guys on Buffalo Grove."