Boys Basketball: Spartans show healthy respect for defense
BY MIKE BUDA Contributor February 17, 2012 10:38PM
Northbrook Friday 02.17.12. Glenbrook North's Jason Markus (left) (1) passes to teammate Jan Siegien (32) while guarded by Maine East's Aaron Shannon (5) during their game on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012, in Northbrook. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media
STANDINGS
CSL South
*Waukegan 9-1 15-9
New Trier 8-2 20-5
Evanston 6-4 17-9
Maine South 4-6 16-12
Niles West 2-8 5-18
Glenbrook S. 1-9 6-19
CSL North
*Glenbrook N. 8-2 18-6
Niles North 7-3 18-7
Highland Park 6-4 15-10
Maine West 5-5 12-13
Deerfield 4-6 9-14
Maine East 0-10 4-18
* — conference champions
(Records through Sunday
Article Extras
Updated: March 24, 2012 8:08AM
Fighting through adversity and injuries was well worth it for Glenbrook North when it clinched the CSL North title on Friday.
In a game where Maine East (4-18, 0-10) squandered many offensive possessions due to turnovers, GBN (18-6, 8-2) exited victorious with the 67-44 win on senior night.
“The past two years I’ve been on the team, we have tied with Deerfield and Niles North, so it feels good to win outright for once,” said junior forward Andrew McAuliffe.
The team may not have even been thinking of this scenario just a few months ago.
“At some points in the season, we didn’t know if it was possible for this to happen, but now that it has happened, it feels great,” said senior forward Mark Johnson, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
On offense, the Spartans used good ball movement to find their scoring chances, which they converted for a 24-4 first quarter lead.
Before the period came to a close, the injury-filled season looked to have another victim after junior guard Kurt Karis went down with an injured back following a layup.
To the relief of the hometown fans, the injury was not serious and Karis continued to play.
The second quarter brought more of the same from the defensive pressure of GBN along with its hot shooting.
“Now that we’re finally healthy, everybody out there is always full of energy so that allows us to keep that defensive pressure up,” said Johnson.
McAuliffe led all scorers at the break with 10 points as his team led 39-12.
The Blue Demons ignored the scoreboard in the second half as they outscored their opponents 35-28 in the two final frames, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Senior guard Aaron Shannon led Maine East scoring with 15 points. Junior guard Evan Nazzal scored eight points and senior center Adnan Kamencic added four points and five rebounds.
McAuliffe finished with 14 points and gathered four boards.
“My teammates were looking for me and finding me,” McAuliffe said. “I was talking to Mark (Johnson) earlier and we’re just both really bad at getting each other the ball. In this game, we just figured it out and looked for each other.”
After being honored during pregame, senior forward Mitchell Lev collected 12 points and three rebounds and senior guard Adam Chick added 10 points and four steals.
The Spartans were to meet up with Waukegan on Wednesday for the CSL crown. They begin play in the Niles North Regional on Tuesday, beginning with a semifinal matchup with either Lincoln Park or Schurz.
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