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Experience serves efficient Schaumburg

If experience is the remedy for closing out games on the road, Schaumburg has it in a heavy dose.

Schaumburg seniors Kyle Bolger (19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and Jimmy Lundquist (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) helped the Saxons (4-2) close the door on a pesky Elk Grove (2-3) squad to get a 41-36 victory on the road.

“Kyle (Bolger) and Jimmy (Lundquist) have a ton of experience,” said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. “They’re both great players. They’re both tough, smart kids who are great leaders and they did a great job tonight. Experience is the best teacher.”

The duo scored 18 of the Saxons’ 21 points in the second half. Schaumburg’s only second-half bucket not scored by the two seniors came on a nifty dish from Bolger to fellow senior Ryan Kase for a layup plus a foul.

“We’re comfortable with each other and we know each other’s games,” Bolger said. “Our team just played great today and they got us open. We played how we wanted to play.”

Playing well for the Saxons also meant shutting down Elk Grove senior Austin Amann. The all-area guard finished with 12 points (7 rebounds), but shot 3-of-15 from the field thanks to Schaumburg’s lockdown defense.

While Bolger was responsible for Amann most of the night, Schaumburg senior Bobby Green (3 points, 6 rebounds) and junior Josh Rahn helped make things difficult for the Elk Grove guard closer to the basket.

“We just hope that we made him work for his points because (Amann) is extremely talented,” Walsh said. “He’s really a tough cover and he’s really an excellent player that can make tough shots. You don’t guard him with one player. We played defense as a team.”

Elk Grove senior guard Kishan Patel (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) stepped up with Amann struggling to get quality looks. Patel also paced an offense that only turned the ball over eight times.

“The difference was that we didn’t turn it over but we didn’t have quality possessions,” said Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. “That’s where we need to grow.”

But possessions were at a premium against a Schaumburg squad that only had 7 turnovers. Add in a nearly two-minute Schaumburg possession and 5 Bolger free throws in the final three minutes, and that deficit was too much for Elk Grove to overcome.

“I thought we definitely gave ourselves an opportunity,” Furman said. “But they were flawless.”

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