Shannon a leader for young Maine East squad

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Park Ridge, 01/13/12--Maine East's Aaron Shannon shoots in front of Glenbrook North's Mark Johnson. Maine East HS hosted Glenbrook North HS in boys basketball Friday evening. | Jon Langham~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:37AM

A few of Aaron Shannon’s teammates were still in middle school when the Maine East senior entered high school, but he doesn’t seem burdened by his leadership role on a squad that had just two seniors in the starting lineup against Glenbrook North Friday night.

Freshman Ezeke Omeke and sophomore Keith Brown-Stillwell started along with Shannon, as the Blue Demons dropped a 75-53 Central Suburban North decision to the Spartans in Park Ridge.

In addition, freshman Abby George came off the bench in the second quarter and dropped in back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer that helped cut a 15-point deficit to 34-28 less than a minute before the intermission.

The youth movement hasn’t seemed to hinder Shannon, who led the Blue Demons with 13 points.

“I feel pretty confident,” he said. “I am glad that we have people that we can go to — that we can bring out there with some good intensity and pressure. Also, that freshman (George), I am pretty satisfied that he came out and hit some big shots, being that it was his first varsity game, actually. We just have to keep working with (the younger players), filling their heads with good motivation, and we should be fine. We have to show them around a couple of times — show them the ropes — and get them focused and concentrated.“

Six points was as close as Maine East would pull after Glenbrook North took a 20-12 first-quarter lead. The Spartans blew it open during a 15-0 run that spanned the final minute of the first half into the third quarter.

Shannon struggled with just three points in the first half, but responded after the break, collecting seven points in the third, including two buckets from long distance.

“In the first half, I was struggling really bad,” Shannon explained. “After the second quarter, coach (Dave Genis) pulled me aside and told me to focus, play my game and get my teammates involved, and I should be able to get on the road from there.”

Omeke pulled down nine rebounds and also finished with nine points, including hitting 3-of-4 shots in the fourth quarter. Junior Evan Nazzal nailed all three of his three-point attempts, totaling nine points.

Brown-Stillwell paced the Blue Demons in the first half, scoring all seven of his points before the break, while senior Adam Bloniarz came off the bench to add four points and six boards.

“We had some good offensive possessions and some good defensive possessions,” Shannon said. “At the end of the day, we just have to get back to practice and work harder, and we will move ahead from there.”