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Niles West News

The Student News Site of Niles West High School

Niles West News

The Student News Site of Niles West High School

Niles West News

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Varsity Basketball Falls to Maine South

Senior+Alfredo+Gonzalez+defends+a+Maine+South+ball+handler+during+Fridays+loss+to+the+Hawks.+Maine+South+won+50-29.+PHOTO+by+Vinny+Kabat
Senior Alfredo Gonzalez defends a Maine South ball handler during Friday’s loss to the Hawks. Maine South won 50-29. PHOTO by Vinny Kabat

The Varsity boys basketball team fell at home to the Maine South Hawks, 29-50,  in a tough loss on Friday, Jan. 25.

The Wolves entered the game confidently, being undefeated in the conference and having a winning record at 11-8. However, with senior David McCoy out, the Wolves were at an important disadvantage. The Hawks won the tip, but their first two points, and the first points of the game, were added after nearly four scoreless minutes.

The teams played relatively evenly early on, with junior Ahmad Gibson hitting a three with 2:19 left in the quarter. With 2:03 left, junior Van Kirkwood entered the game for the first time this season. Senior Joe Younan hit a three at the end of the quarter, tying the low-scoring contest at 6-6.

The Wolves began the second quarter with a three-pointer by senior Alex Darville, and he hit another with 3:30 left in the quarter. Younan hit his second three of the game with 3:30 left in the half, but despite the hot three-point shooting by the Wolves, they were down 18-12 at the half.

The third quarter began much like the first, with two scoreless minutes at the beginning. The Hawks scored first with 6:06 left in the quarter, and were by up 14-24 with 4:14 left. Senior guard Alfredo Gonzalez got the hot hand late in the game, scoring four in the latter half of the quarter, and Gibson hit a three late with :39 left. The Hawks led 25-32 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was marked by extremely low scoring by the Wolves and a red-hot Hawks offense. The Hawks kept pulling ahead and finished first at 29-50.

Head coach Bob Williams said a lack of focus led to the team’s loss.

“We didn’t execute or play with sustained effort. We’ve got to correct our mentality,” he said.

Gibson was the lead scorer for the Wolves with 11 points.

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