Simply, Maine East beats Vernon Hills

Most of Maine East's boys basketball players may not know who Joe Maddon is, but they have discovered what winning ball is.

After starting the season winless in their first eight games, the Blue Demons are 2-0 in their own holiday tournament. They beat Lakes 56-40 in Park Ridge on Friday afternoon.

Maine East (2-8, 2-0) will next play Crane Medical Prep in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"I had asked the team if they knew who (former Cubs manager) Joe Maddon is," Maine East coach Dave Genis said. "Maybe three of them raised their hands. I had said, 'He took out a full-page ad and it was really impressive. One of the things he used to sell to the guys on the Cubs was to do simple better.' "

The Blue Demons are doing that. They trailed Lakes 20-13 midway through the second quarter but put together a 12-2 run to lead 25-22 at the break.

"We played a pretty complete ballgame," Genis said. "We have had problems with turnovers in the past. We did the right things to get the result."

Jason Dedios led the way for Maine East, scoring 8 of his game-high 17 points during a 16-8 run in the third quarter that put the Blue Demons up 41-30 going into the final quarter.

"Right now we're running our offense and it's pretty good," Dedios said. "We're playing more like a defensive group and we play hard. We decided to get up more on their guards, and we got some steals."

Jonathan Serrano added 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Blue Demons.

Lakes (4-7, 1-1 tourney) was led by Aidan Sage with 10 points and Jake Sanders with 8.

"Maine East did a great job of pressuring us, causing turnovers and hitting shots," Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. "They stepped up hitting their 3s and their free throws. We've been down this road a few times this year. The guys are working. It's just that one mistake is compounded by another. The next thing we know we're chasing 8 or 10 points, and it's tough to come back from that. The guys will get it, and we will keep grinding."