New Trier ends Maine South's win streak

Maine South's seven-game winning streak came to a fast halt Friday in Park Ridge.

New Trier converted 11 of its first 13 shots, including six from outside the arc, and blew past the Hawks 61-26 in a Central Suburban South boys basketball game in Park Ridge.

"They shot the heck out of the ball," Maine South coach Tony Lavorato Jr. said. "I thought they did a great job. We tried a few different combinations. I thought our kids played hard, but we move on."

New Trier (12-10, 3-4) was deadly from the field from the onset. The Trevians nailed their first 6 shots from the field with half of those from behind the 3-point line as they jumped to a 15-0 lead just 4½ minutes into the game.

New Trier continued its scoring streak and led 37-16 at the break. The Trevians sent the game into a running clock with just under six minutes to play.

"Some days you are executing well and shooting well and that was us tonight," said New Trier coach Scott Fricke, a Buffalo Grove resident whose son, Tyler, plays for the Bison.

"I thought our guys were ready to go. When you shoot like that, everything becomes easy."

New Trier shot liked it owned the rims at Maine South. The Trevians shot 64 percent (23-of-36) from the field and a sizzling 61 percent (11-of-18) from outside the arc. The hot shooting was so contagious that New Trier had eight different players knock down 3-pointers.

"I knew when we banked a 3 in it was our night," Fricke said. "It is about time. We beat a good team. They had won seven in a row coming into this game."

It was a difficult way for Maine South (14-10, 3-4) to end its winning streak.

"When you start winning games, you think things come easy to you," Lavorato said. "We had a slap of reality today. It was a fast, quick slap."

Lavorato said that his team, which plays Evanston and Notre Dame next week, will be ready to play.

"It is a journey," Lavorato said. "We do have to get better. This game tonight will be a good test for us. I am excited at where we are at. We are going to come back tomorrow and practice and get better."

Nikola Zelenovic led Maine South with 8 points, drilling a pair of 3s. Casey Clark had 4 points and Danny Locascio and Owen Guest each had 3 points.

New Trier was led by John Carragher, who had 21 points including a trio of 3s. Ian Burns had 8 points while William Ryan and Emmett Burnside each had 7 points.

"I like where we are at," Lavorato said. "I think we have really improved. I thought we have made the most of our opportunities. We didn't leave one on the table today. It was just that one team played really well."