Elgin avenges loss to St. Charles East
The last time the boys basketball teams from Elgin and St. Charles East met on Dec. 4, the previously winless Saints knocked Elgin from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 43-41 victory.
The Maroons returned the favor Friday at Chesbrough Field House with a convincing 64-41 win, a decision that staked Elgin to a half-game lead in the Upstate Eight River and put the Saints’ title hopes on thin ice.
Elgin got off to a fast start and never looked back. The Maroons led 15-5 after a quarter, thanks to 3 buckets from junior wing Dennis Moore. Junior post Kory Brown scored 6 points in the second quarter as Elgin outscored the Saints 24-20 to take a 39-25 halftime lead.
“We were hyped,” said Brown, who led the Maroons with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. “We were ready to get back at them because the first time we played was one of our worst games of the season. Our intensity level was lower than the ground in that game. This time, it shot up through the roof.”
The victory improved Elgin’s record to 18-5 overall, the program’s best start since its UEC title team of 2000-01 opened the season 18-3.
The win upped the Maroons’ record in the UEC River to 8-2, a half-game better than idle St. Charles North (12-10, 7-2). Those two teams square off Wednesday in Elgin.
The loss dimmed the title hopes of St. Charles East (10-12, 6-4), which lost a River Division game for the second straight night. To gain a share of the division championship, the Saints would have to win at St. Charles North next Friday, beat Larkin on Feb. 25 and hope Elgin loses its final two games against St. Charles North and Streamwood.
Elgin’s intense man-to-man defense kept the Saints from ever finding their shooting touch. St. Charles East sank only 14-of-56 shots (25 percent) and made only 1-of-21 attempts from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Elgin enjoyed one of its best shooting performances of the season, connecting on 23 of 35 (66 percent).
“Elgin made more plays and hit more shots,” St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said. “I won’t fault our kids for their effort.”
Saints sophomore Kendall Stephens scored a game-best 22 points, but he had to work for his points. Elgin held him to 8-of-23 shooting in front of an audience that included Purdue coach Matt Painter. No other Saint scored more than 5 points.
“We wanted to pressure Kendall and allow him no open looks all night,” Moore said. “Everybody else just had to play back and keep them from penetrating so no one had to sag off and help.”
“Give them credit because they sped the game up,” Stephens said of the Maroons. “They made shots tiresome, so I didn’t always have good legs beneath me like I should. They’re a good, scrappy team and that’s what they can do to you.”
Brown completed three supremely athletic plays in the second half to help Elgin pull away: he split two defenders in midair for a soaring layup in the paint; he jumped over a defender on the baseline to complete a three-point play; and he grabbed an offensive rebound, reset, then used a spin move to drive for another acrobatic bank shot.
“I’m trying to step up a lot more,” Brown said. “It’s gotten to the point where I have the confidence that I can do what I need to do. Sometimes I feel like nobody can really stop me.”
Brown had lots of help, too. Moore finished with 14 points, point guard Arie Williams had 11, post Matt Andres had 9 points and 4 rebounds and reserve wing Cortez Scott added 7 points and 4 rebounds.
“We had to worry about guarding Kendall Stephens, but they had to worry about whoever was on the court for us,” Elgin coach Mike Sitter said.