Boys basketball: Hoffman Estates pulls away from Carmel, advances to title game at Maine East

Hoffman Estates coach Peter McBride was waiting for his team to explode.

And when the did, the Hawks provided huge firepower.

The Hawks scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to pull away from Carmel 58-40 in the semifinals of the Maine East tournament Monday in Park Ridge.

Hoffman (11-2) will meet Sandburg if Tuesday’s title game at 2:30 p.m. Sandburg upended host Maine East 58-48 in the other semifinal.

“I was really proud or our guys’ effort and their ability to respond to some tough times,” said McBride, whose team won the tournament title last year.

“Carmel is a really good team. We amped up the pressure a little bit defensively and that made things a little bit easier. Offensively, they make things difficult for you in the half court, so we felt we had to get the pace going.”

Leading the way for Hoffman (11-2) was Torey Baskin. The senior was a steady force for the Hawks, attacking the basket and finishing with 20 points while converting 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

“We pride ourselves on really finishing the game and really striving through the fourth quarter,” Baskin said. “I think our play is a testament to our preparation. We play with so much love for each other. The things we do on the court is because of our relationships with each other.”

Carmel coach Mike Wasielewski said he was disappointed in how his team failed to score inside.

“We just didn’t go to the basket well,” Wasielewski said. “We had good shots, but we couldn’t score. I definitely didn’t think we were going to have a loss by that margin in this game.”

One of the reasons that Carmel struggled in the paint was the play of Hoffman sophomore Bryce Smith. Playing inside, the 6-foot-5 Smith was a force with 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“I feel that is our plan,” Smith said. “They have me sitting in the paint to protect the rim. My teammates trusted me to make plays. We like to share the ball and that trust allows me to take shots.”

Carmel (6-7) played a scrappy game for three quarters. The Corsairs never led and trailed 22-13 after a 7-0 run by the Hawks in the second quarter.

Ethan Matz, who led Carmel with 16 points, pushed the Corsairs within four points on three separate occasions in the third quarter.

But the Hawks got flying on both ends of the court in the final period. They held Carmel scoreless for almost six minutes as Hoffman forced two turnovers and Carmel missed its first six shots.

Chris Mobley and Cam James each had 9 points for Hoffman while Ramon Rosario had 7 points and 9 rebounds. Carmel’s Drew Bance had 8 points, Jack Maloney 5 points and J.J. Doyle 4 points.

Sandburg 58, Maine East 48: In the second semifinal game, it was all about turnovers.

And Maine East just couldn’t seem to avoid them. The Blue Demons had 25 as they fell to Sandburg.

Maine East (9-4) will meet Carmel in the third place game at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Demons coach Sergio Muno said Sandburg’s aggressive trapping defense led to his team giving up the ball so frequently.

“We weren’t strong with ball and they took advantage of that,” Muro said. “We have had some issues with turnovers, but for the most part, we handle the ball well.”

Maine East turned the ball over a whopping 13 times in the first half. But despite all the miscues, the Demons were able to battle back from a 16-11 deficit in the second quarter to tie the game at 26-26 on a three-point play by Josiah Oaxaca with 8.5 seconds left in the half.

“We talked about this at halftime,” Muro said. “We turned the ball over a lot, but we were able to tie the game up.”

With momentum and some confidence, Maine East was able to turn the ball over once in the first 3:15 of the third quarter. That got the Demons offense rolling.

Led by Brandon Schreiber and Jayden Dozie, Maine East went on an 11-4 run to lead 37-30.

That’s when disaster struck.

The Demons turned the ball over on their next three possessions and Sandburg (8-2) took advantage of each one. The Eagles scored 9 unanswered points on their way to a 15-2 run.

Maine East would turn the ball over 12 times in just over the final 12 minutes of the game. Sandburg outscored Maine East 26-11 during that run.

Dozie led Maine East with 19 points while Schreiber had 13 points and Oaxaca added 9 points. Sandburg, which turned the ball over 15 times in the game, was led by William Johnson, who had 24 points, 18 of which came in the second half.