Maine South turns away Elk Grove

Elk Grove hung tough with highly regarded Maine South in Park Ridge on Tuesday night but finally succumbed to a 73-58 loss.

"We know that soon we will be able to beat teams like this down the line," said Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. "We're still putting it together. We know our goals."

Elk Grove (5-14) never led and was on the verge of getting blown out by the Hawks (18-4) in the second quarter when they trailed 28-15,

Keven Zelaya (18 points) scored 5 points in a 9-2 run by the Grenadiers to pull within 30-22 with 2:08 left in the half.

Maine South used a 7-2 spurt over the last 48 seconds to lead 39-27 at the break.

P.J. Killean did most of his damage in the second quarter, with 14 of his team-high 18 points, including four 3s.

Elk Grove got as close as 43-36 with 4:18 left in the third quarter on Brian Battaglia's basket but could get no closer.

The Hawks edged away slowly from that point.

"We pressured them and forced them to play good basketball against us," said Furman.

"They prepared for us well, " said Maine South coach Tony Lavorato. "They attacked our defense. We switched defenses on them and forced them to work hard for their shots."

Donny Duschinsky scored 12 points and pullled down 7 rebounds. Brian Battaglia added 11 more points for Elk Grove.

Matt Palucki scored 17 points, Justin Tworek had 15 and guard Pat Maher tallied 13 to go with 7 rebounds. Justin Wasik had 5 assists for Maine South.