WINNETKA — In his seven seasons as head coach, Scott Fricke said he had never heard so many people wonder what was wrong with the New Trier boys basketball team.
Coming into Thursday’s game against two-time defending Central Suburban South champion Maine South, the Trevians were on a four-game losing streak. Their most recent loss was a 22-point setback to rival Evanston on Tuesday.
“We were having a little tough stretch, but I knew we would put it together,” Fricke said. “We had to shut out what everybody was saying about us. It came down to us sticking together.”
It took three overtimes, but New Trier finally got the win it needed, earning a 47-45 victory over the Hawks on senior guard Robbie Abuls’ offensive rebound and layup with 4.2 seconds to go.
The winning basket came after junior guard Mike Hurley found senior forward Ryan Haak on the right wing for an open look at a 3-pointer. Haak’s shot bounced off the rim. Abuls found the ball on the weak side and powered through defenders for the layup and foul. He missed the free throw, but the Hawks last-second 3-point attempt was off the mark.
“This was absolutely huge for us,” Haak said. “Our confidence was shot. I mean, 2-5 is not a record a New Trier basketball team should have. I think this win will hurdle us to much bigger and better things this year.”
New Trier senior forward Sean Boyd scored consecutive baskets with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to give the Trevians (3-5, 1-1) a 39-32 lead. But the Hawks (6-1, 1-1) sent the game to overtime on senior forward George Sargeant’s 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds on the clock.
“When he hit that contested 3, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, no, here we go again,’ ” Fricke said. “Lately, it seemed like everything that could go against us, went against us.
“The biggest thing for us was to stick together and play confident as a team.”
Senior guard David Hammes scored eight of his game-high 14 points in the third quarter. His buzzer-beating layup in the third quarter put the Trevians up 35-29. Haak finished with nine points, and Boyd added six points.
Abuls said the short turnaround after losing to Evanston wasn’t easy, but the Trevians prepared well for the Hawks, who had won the previous four meetings between the teams.
“We kept our heads up and had a great practice [Wednesday],” said Abuls, who scored five of his 10 points in the second and third overtimes. “We had to get out of this losing streak, and this will fuel us for at least the next week.”
New Trier next plays Dec. 19 on the road against Niles West. Stewing over another loss would not have been ideal for team morale, according to Abuls.
“This was huge,” he said. “This changes our whole mindset going forward, and it probably takes a little pressure off of us.”
Maine South notes
• The Hawks came into the game averaging 64.5 points and shooting 58 percent from the field, but they went 15-for-47 (31.9 percent) and 7-for-17 on free throws to finish with their lowest point total of the season. Their previous low was in a 59-53 win over Niles North on Dec. 2.
• Sargeant, the team’s leading scorer, had all 13 of his points after halftime. Junior guard Jon Arenas followed with 12 points. Senior guard Nick Ruben added nine points, and senior guard Caleb deMarigny finished with eight points.
• The loss ended Maine South’s 17-game conference win streak, which dated back to a 45-44 defeat to Waukegan on Dec. 21, 2012.