Rockford Auburn puts away South Elgin
South Elgin started fast and finished strong.
It was the middle two quarters that proved fatal to the Storm.
Rockford Auburn outscored South Elgin 30-12 in the second and third quarters in posting a 60-46 victory in the semifinals of the Class 4A Jacobs sectional in Algonquin Wednesday night.
Auburn (25-4) will battle Huntley (25-4) for the sectional championship Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
South Elgin, playing in a sectional for the first time, and Auburn played on even terms in the first quarter with the score tied at 13 after 8 minutes.
The Tigers seized control of the game in the second quarter, scoring the first 11 points. Auburn connected on 5-of-7 from the field and was 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Javantae Hicks scored 4 points on a pair of putbacks and Anthony Strickland nailed a 3-pointer as Auburn opened up a 24-13 lead.
South Elgin (16-13) was 0-of-7 from the floor and committed 5 turnovers during Auburn's surge. South Elgin didn't score in the quarter until Dillon Gardner scored on a layup with 1:10 left to make the score 24-15.
Strickland drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 27-15 halftime lead.
South Elgin was 1-of-10 in the quarter and missed all four of its 3-point attempts.
“We missed layups, we missed 3s,” said South Elgin coach Chaz Taft. “Their athleticism got to us, but we continued to play hard.”
Auburn continued to build a cushion in the second half. The Tigers' biggest lead came with 6:02 left when Rashard Ferguson scored a layup to give Auburn a 45-27 lead.
The Storm got to within 11, 45-34, on a layup by Jake Maestranzi with 4:42 remaining, but couldn't get any closer.
Strickland led a balanced attack for the Tigers with 13 points. LaMark Foote scored 12, Tavarous Ford 11 and Fred Van Fleet 10.
“We hit some big shots and executed when we had to,” said Auburn coach Bryan Ott. “We maintained a good effort with our full court defense and wore them down at the end.”
Sammy Sutter led South Elgin with 19 points, but made only 7-of-28 from the floor and 2-of-14 from 3-point range.
“Sammy had really good looks,” said Taft. “The ball didn't fall. If he makes some shots maybe the score is different.”
Gardner added 14 points with 9 rebounds for the Storm.
“They were a little intimidating at the beginning,” said Gardner. “But we got off to a good start. We just couldn't keep it going for four quarters.
“This was a great year for our team.”