Stevenson’s boys basketball team beat Maine South 60-51 on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the 54th annual Proviso West Holiday tournament.
The Patriots (9-0) scored the last nine points of the game to pull out the victory. Eighth-seeded Maine South (9-2) tied the game at 51-51 with 4:06 remaining on junior guard Jon Arenas’ 3-pointer from the corner after trailing 43-37 to end the third quarter.
Villanova-bound guard Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 29 points for Stevenson, but all of his five 3-pointers came in the first half, when he scored 19 points.
The Hawks featured four players in double-figures scoring on Tuesday: Arenas (14 points, seven rebounds), George Sargeant (13 points, seven rebounds) and Caleb deMarigny and Davis Neilands (12 points each).
Maine South coach Tony Lavorato Jr. admitted that defending Brunson is nearly impossible. The Hawks’ base 2-3 zone held the rest of the Patriots lineup to eight points in the first half.
“They take away the middle,” Stevenson coach Patrick Ambrose said. “They contest shots and switch well off the right guy. They’re good. We were up six or seven points at the end of the game and they stay in [their zone].”
Rice-bound guard Connor Cashaw scored eight of his 12 points for the Patriots in the second half. Maine South survived a stretch of seven consecutive missed shots in the third quarter to rally in the fourth quarter.
Brunson attacked the zone in the first half, making 5-of-9 3-pointers, usually off the left wing. That’s where Caleb deMarginy, a senior guard, was lined up.
“We tried to make it tough on him, but great players make great plays,” deMarigny said.
Maine South will play Proviso East or Kenwood at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.