MAINE EAST BOWS TO VON STEUBEN IN LUTHER NORTH TITLE GAME
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Posted: Friday, January 2, 2015 3:35 pm | Updated: 3:36 pm, Fri Jan 2, 2015.

By JEFF ZIMMERMAN Journal & Topics Sports

Maine East's hopes of repeating a second consecutive Luther North holiday championship fell short Tuesday night, losing to Von Steuben 55-50 in the title game.
The Panthers from Chicago's North side, for the past five years, were a participant in the highly touted Proviso West Holiday Tournament.

"Last year we were playing with only underclassmen winning 4 games," said victorious Panther coach Vince Carter. "The Proviso West tournament decreased from 32 teams to 16 and we felt that we would be better off in the Luther North tournament this winter."
Von Steuben's 4 wins this time around increased their seasonal record to 10-5 while Maine East, winner of 3 games, will enter Friday night's (Jan. 9) game at Maine West 4-8.
Von Steuben never trailed East, jumping out to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter.
"We started out the game very sluggish," said Maine East coach Dave Genis. "Passing around the perimeter was very unsure and our defense gave Von Steuben too many good looks at the basket."
Blue Demon turnovers and 3-point shooting by Steve Odueze put Von Steuben ahead at half, 27-16. Maine East center Ezeka Omeke kept the Demons in the game with his offensive rebounding and inside scoring collecting 12 of the East's 16 points.
Maine East's Nick Kanjou, scoreless in the first half, ignited the Demons with 5 points opening up the third quarter. Tournament MVP point-guard Rafael Cruz led Von with 17 points and countered Kanjou with his outside sharp shooting.
East began to cut into the Panther lead, but Cruz was the culprit to put a halt to Maine East's momentum. Omeke was unstoppable in the second half. He was responsible with 3:15 left to play for trimming the Von Steuben lead to 47-43, but it was Cruz with a long 3-pointer increasing their lead to 50-43. Von Steuben sealed up the win and first place trophy from the foul line despite three 3s by Kanjou in the final quarter.
Omeke scored a career-high 30 points and was voted to the all-tournament team. Kanjou finished with 14 points all in the second half.
"Omeke was a force under the boards," said Genis. "One adjustment we made at half was to get the ball inside to him. We did do that, but at the end we lacked scoring balance and it's difficult to win with only three players scoring."
Maine East advanced to the finals with a hard earned semifinal, 44-43, win over Brother Rice. The Demons took an 18-4 lead in the first quarter and had to hold on to the Crusaders' surge in the final quarter.
"We played our best defensive game in the first half," Genis said. "Brother Rice became very physical in the second half and wore us down but we managed to hold on and win."
Maine East point-guard Milan Grover was outstanding in the tournament with his ball handling and defense. He led East with 15 points in the win over Brother Rice.