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Boys Basketball: Deerfield stays patient, pounds Maine East
Patience is a time-tested virtue, and it might never ring more true than against the 2-3 zone defense.
Deerfield kept its bearings against Maine East and its zone on Friday night, deliberately working the ball and finding open shooters once the Demons defense wore down.
The result was an easy 57-33 victory for the Warriors (9-10, 4-4 CSL North) as they kept their slim division championship hopes alive. East (4-15, 0-8) stayed winless for the calendar year, losing its eighth consecutive game.
“We told our guys just to stick to the game plan,” Deerfield coach JJ Pearl said. “We were very patient. We thought we would get some good looks and I think our defense created a lot for us. In the half court set, we were extremely patient and that allowed us to get easy shots down low.”
Deerfield ripped off an early 14-2 run in the first quarter, holding Maine East to just one bucket over a six-minute stretch. Senior guard Alex Sacks scored nine first quarter points to lead the charge and finished with a game-high 18.
The Warriors kept the pressure on, scoring the first six points of the second to extend the lead to 24-9 and it never dipped into single digits again. The lead was 16 at the half, 18 after three quarters and grew as large as 24 at the final buzzer.
Senior Mack Watts joined Sacks in double figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Sophomore Michael Alfieri posted eight points and nine boards for the Warriors.
Maine East, prone to struggle for long stretches on the offensive end of the floor, only hit 12 of 41 shots (29 percent) and didn’t have any players reach double digits. The Blue Demons did hold their own on the glass, as the teams each corralled 34 rebounds.
“We just don’t have five guys that play hard at the same time on every possession,” Maine East coach Dave Genis said. “Eventually good teams will find that weak link and exploit it. We don’t have guys giving that constant effort and keeping plays alive for entire possessions.
“We just hit stretches where we can’t put the ball in the basket. We’re getting shots in spots where we want to get shots, but the ball just doesn’t go in. They’re doing what we tell them to do, but we’re young and we’ll get there.”
Senior Aaron Shannon had six points and eight rebounds for Maine East, while freshman Ezeke Omeke paced the offense with eight points and nine rebounds.
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