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Sports

Last-Second Layup Stuns Trevians At Home

Maine South's zone held Connor Boehm in check as the Hawks derailed New Trier's chances at a conference title.

Sometimes the ball just doesn’t seem to bounce one team’s way. And in a two-point game, that can be the difference between a win and a loss.

New Trier’s hopes for a CSL South title were dashed Friday night when Maine South barely tipped the Trevians, 41-39.

After Connor Boehm knocked down two clutch free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to tie the game at 39-39, Maine South called timeout to set up the last play.

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They put the ball in the hands of point guard Tony Albano who threw a lob pass inside to Matt Palucki. The Hawks’ 6-foot-7 forward finished with an easy layup, and the Hawks had their first victory at New Trier in 14 years.

“You put it in your best ball-handler’s hands, you’ve got a really good shooter and then you’ve got Palucki back there and he had a monster game,” Maine South Coach Tony Lavorato said. “He came out ready to play today. We wanted to give him the last opportunity.”

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Palucki came out firing from the start. He knocked down three three-pointers in the first five minutes, scoring nine of the team’s first 11 points.

But New Trier hung in, even after forward Austin Angel picked up his second foul less than three minutes into the game. Jordan Thomas, in his usual role off the bench, came in and converted a layup inside after knocking down a jumper to pull the Trevians within two points after the first quarter.

Braigel found Brian Kost for a short jumper, and Boehm converted two free throws after New Trier collected two offensive rebounds. On the ensuing Hawks possession, the Trevians forced a turnover and Reid Berman got out for an easy lay-in to give New Trier a four-point lead.

Yet New Trier’s offense struggled at times against Maine South’s zone. Leading scorer Connor Boehm didn’t get his first touch in the paint until there were less than three minutes left in the first half. He promptly knocked down his patented hook shot to tie the game at 19-19.

“I thought he started a step slow and he got into a rhythm once he got loosened up in the second half,” New Trier coach Scott Fricke said of Boehm. “[Maine South] did a good job, that’s the way they play. They pack it in and they take away that kind of thing.”

Starting late in the second quarter, Maine South looked inside more often to Bruce and Palucki. The two big men scored the Hawks last seven points of the quarter and Maine South went into halftime with a 23-21 lead.

“They shot the ball pretty well in the first half,” Fricke said. “Their whole system is based on getting a lead in the first half and they got a lead and they hit some big shots at the end.”

The Trevians and Hawks continued their see-sawing battle deep into the fourth quarter with neither team leading by more than four points for the entire game.

With less than three minutes left Maine South forward Casey Bruce was blocked on a layup attempt, but the ball bounced right to Palucki for an easy putback.

“Every loose ball fell right into their hands for a layup,” Fricke said. “There were some big plays where we’re fighting for the ball and they’ve got a kid standing right underneath for a layup.”

On New Trier’s ensuing possession, forward Austin Angel was the recipient of a nice backdoor feed from Matt DiCesare to cut the Maine South lead to one point with 2:17 remaining.

That’s when Maine South started to hold the ball, calling timeouts when they found themselves caught in a double team. Palucki was fouled with 20.8 seconds and made 1-of-2 free throws. That set up the Trevians with a chance to tie and Boehm was fouled after receiving a pass down low.

Boehm led New Trier with 12 points. Palucki finished with 25 points to lead all scorers.

The Trevians lost to Maine south, 52-35, in January, but Fricke viewed that game as a turning point.

“That game at their place turned our season around,” Fricke said. “We really evaluated, we looked at each other and said Hey this is a season changer right here the way we played.”

New Trier faces Highland Park on Tuesday, but begins the state tournament on March 2.

“We would’ve really liked to win conference and it sucks not winning,” Boehm said. “Hopefully we can get it together and make a good run in the state tournament.”

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