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Boys Basketball: Glenbrook North tops Maine West, keeps CSL North streak alive
Updated: February 10, 2012 11:34PM
For Glenbrook North, winning the Central Suburban League title in boys basketball never gets old.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Spartans junior Kurt Karis said. “It’s eleven years straight and it means we get to play in the crossover game. It’s always exciting.”
Glenbrook North (17-5, 7-2 in CSL play) won 61-42 over visiting Maine West (12-12, 5-4) on Friday, clinching at least a share of this year’s conference crown with guard Karis using his quickness to get to the basket and his outside touch to lead the Spartans with 21 points.
Karis hit three treys on the night and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Adam Chick added eight points for the Spartans, while Andrew McAuliffe, Mark Johnson, and Jason Markus netted six apiece.
“My shot has been dropping but it hasn’t been consistent, so I’m trying to take it to the rim more,” Karis said. “That will open up my shot more at the three-point line.”
With Warriors leading scorer Conor Hart and his 20-plus point average absent due to injury, Maine West senior Kevin Garcia did what he could to help pick up the slack, burying a pair of three-pointers and scoring eight of his team-high 11 points in the game’s second quarter.
That’s when Spartans senior Trevor Ponticelli pulled up his socks and got down to business, keying a second-half defensive effort that held Garcia to three points.
“Trevor doesn’t do that much offensively but defensively he’s always stopped the best player on the other team,” Spartans coach David Weber said. “We always hope it’s a guard. He’s a great defender and he did a nice job on (Garcia).”
Center Andrew McAuliffe’s recent return to the floor after injury makes North infinitely more dangerous, especially where Karis and his backcourt mates are concerned.
“Especially defensively, you know if you gamble you have a 6-foot-8 kid there to help,” Karis said. “It’s nice to have him out there. We’ve handled adversity well this year. We played hard when it really mattered and it shows in our record.”
Weber wondered at times this year whether his boys would be able to keep the program’s CSL title-streak alive.
“This one was probably the toughest just because of all the injuries,” Weber said. “We had the talent but it got tough. We had to adjust and the kids made great adjustments this year.”
Tom Kukec and Austin Hansen netted six points apiece for the Warriors, while Will Hepburn and Dylan Carson scored five each.
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