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Elgin overcomes lackluster effort to post win

A late-season nonconference game sometimes can be difficult to get motivated for.

That was the case Friday night for Elgin's boys basketball team.

Despite a sluggish performance, the Maroons were able to come away with a 48-35 victory over Chicago Lake View at Chesbrough Field House.

"A small crowd and the dog days of the season and we have a conference game (Saturday), so it's my fault if our minds weren't where they're supposed to be," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "We did not play very well."

The Maroons (8-16), by Sitter's count, missed 12 layups and shot just 35 percent (17-for-48). They forced 18 first-half turnovers but didn't take advantage. Elgin led 27-19 at halftime.

"We just missed a lot of layups. There was a lot of simple things," said Elgin senior Kiko Mari, who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. "We were beating them off the dribble. We had a wide-open layup and we missed it. That's something that we have to clean up. I guess we weren't really prepared like we should have been."

Lake View (9-12) had 7 offensive rebounds and Elgin had 6 turnovers in the third quarter. The Wildcats weren't able to cut the deficit by much, only getting within 7, 33-26.

Elgin's lead dropped to 1, 33-32, with 4:44 remaining in the fourth quarter after Mike Davis' basket, but he failed to convert the free throw to complete a 3-point play to tie the game.

The Maroons then went on an 11-0 run over the next 2½ minutes to take a 44-35 lead and seal the victory.

Sophomore Desmond Douglas led Elgin with 13 points.

"It's nice to see a sophomore taking charge late in the season," Sitter said. "He's already taking a leadership role for next year right now."

Donte Harper added 9 points, all in the fourth quarter. Elgin played without leading scorer Isaiah Butler, who missed his second consecutive game because of a "coach's decision," according to Sitter.

Davis led the Wildcats with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

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