The Maine West varsity cagers ended their season Mar. 4 losing to Elk Grove in the second round of the Elk Grove Regional.

The Grenadiers' 55‑51 overtime victory ended the Warriors' hopes of a second straight regional title and a chance to play in their second straight sectional tournament.

In the first quarter Pete Karabas and the Grenadiers' Dave Champa were the big gunners for each team as Karabas had 10 and Champa had 8. The Warriors' tough defense held Elk Grove's principal scorer, Mark Smith, to no points and forced the rest of the Grenadiers to shoot low percentage shots. West was on top 14‑10 at the end of the quarter.

The start of the second quarter saw Bob Anderson connect on a lay‑up and extend the Warrior lead to six before Smith started to come around. The Grenadiers' center had two steals and tallied eight of Elk Grove's next 10 points which put Elk Grove on top, 20‑18, before Kevin Gerhardt and Karabas teamed up for a basket to break the Grenadiers' string. A Gerhardt jumper and three Elk Grove free throws tied the score, 25‑25, at the half.

Anderson again opened the third quarter with a steal and a lay‑up and connected with Bob Zuccarini to give the Warriors a 29‑27 lead. The Warriors' inside game continued to work, and the third period came to a close with Karabas and Zuccarini making three baskets each and the Warriors on top, 41‑37.

In the fourth quarter West's missed free throws and sloppy play enabled Elk Grove to tie the score, 51‑51. The Warriors missed the first free throw on all five of their one and one chances, A Karabas jumper gave Maine West their last points of the game with three minutes left to play. A lay‑up, a jump shot, and two free throws later, Elk Grove was tied with the Warriors as regulation time ended.

The overtime period saw Maine West throw a pass out-of-bounds, travel, and have the ball stolen twice in all four of their possessions. They didn't get a shot off the entire period. Two Grenadier jump shots from the corner sealed the Warriors fate with a minute left in the game.

Karabas led the scoring with 25 points while Zuccarini had 13.

The Warriors got to play Elk Grove by defeating heavily favored Maine North ‑by one point. Mike Wright's two free throws with three seconds left gave the Warriors the victory and a chance to play for the regional championship.