Nice opener as group effort lifts Elk Grove at Fenton

Elk Grove boys basketball coach Anthony Furman could not have asked for a better opening game of the season than the Grenadiers had Monday night.

Elk Grove coasted to a 68-46 win over the host Bison in Fenton's 29th annual Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament.

"We were able to rotate 10 players most of the game," said Furman. "It wasn't because we had to, but because were able to. It was a good game to try different combinations in case we run into foul trouble."

Fenton hung in the game for most of the first quarter behind guard David Alden's 5 points and some balanced scoring to trail Elk Grove 20-11.

But the Grenadiers doubled the score at halftime and led 40-22. With 3:15 left in the third quarter Elk Grove led 57-28.

Junior guard Joey Gatziolis led the way with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Tyler Ingebrigtsen scored 13 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.

"Last year starting as s sophomore I was a little scared," said Gatziolis. "This year I have a comfort level. As long as we can get Tyler going inside, that's going to help open the outside game for us."

"Joey played some good ball for us," said Furman. "He played some good defense. He helped us keep the focus on the game."

"This has been the best two weeks for me in practice that I have experienced," said Ingebrigtsen. "There is such great chemistry on this team. We showed tonight what we are capable of doing. We took care of business."

Elk Grove received balance scoring from Eric Pillath (8 points), and 7 points each from Isaiah Curiel and Tyree Howard.

Alden led Fenton with 13 points.

"We only had 6 turnovers in the first three quarters, " said Furman. "I am pleased with the effort we had."

Elk Grove also was strong on the boards, finishing with a 34-25 edge over Fenton (0-1). But the Bison showed more athleticism than in recent season.

"I think we can win some games this year," said Fenton coach Joshua Payton. "We're a young team. We were out a couple of our taller players with school outings, but we'll be a bit stronger soon. Our guards need to create some havoc with team's defenses for us. Tonight we shot well in the first half, but we had too many turnovers (14 in the first half; 20 for the game). That prevented us from staying in the game longer."

K. J. Jones added 10 points and center Jeremy Biagi had 7 for Fenton.