Elgin bounces back to dump Streamwood

What a difference a week can make. On Friday night the Elgin Maroons boys basketball team looked nothing like the team that struggled to a 1-3 start at the Richmond Burton/Johnsburg Thanksgiving Tournament last week.

The Maroons looked sharp in their home opener, shooting 21-for-42 from the field and committing just 10 turnovers in a 59-45 Upstate Eight River Division win over Streamwood.

Desmond Douglas and Chaquille Bennett each had 15 points to lead Elgin. Lavion Baldwin added 14 points.

"We had to go through some growing pains last week," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "But we definitely have the ability to score and tonight we put it together. I liked the way we moved the ball and limited the turnovers."

Douglas had a huge first quarter scoring 11 points, including a 3-pointer, to help give Elgin an early 17-6 lead.

"He is our catalyst," Sitter said. "We go at the speed he goes. If he is giving us a lot of energy the other guys feed off that. He's our engine.'

The Maroons forced 9 turnovers in the first quarter. Douglas played a big role with that, too, with 3 steals that led to 3 transition buckets.

"As a leader and captain on the team I feel it starts with me," Douglas said. "In the tournament last week I didn't think I was a good enough leader. I needed to do a better job of getting the team going. I definitely thought it started with defense tonight. We did a great job as a team helping each other out and communicating."

The Maroons (2-3, 1-0) led 31-24 at halftime, but then broke the game open with a 17-4 run to start the third quarter to extend the advantage to 48-29.

Bennett had the hot hand during the run with three 3-pointers.

"Our guards did a great job of driving and kicking it back out," Bennett said. "It was a big win for us on our home floor. The crowd was into it and you could feel the intensity."

Bennett shot 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

"I really like a kid like Chaquille," Sitter said. "He was a B team player as a freshman and a sophomore, but really worked hard to be able to make a contribution to the team. He's worked his way into becoming a shooter we look for when we need some offense."

Streamwood (0-6, 0-2) struggled to find any continuity. The Sabres suffered a setback in the first quarter when post player Max Draper exited with a separated shoulder. Then their top scoring threat, Cole Seger, battled foul trouble all game. Despite limited time Seger still scored a team-high 20 points. Brendon Marton added 12 points.

"I feel like we took two steps forward in our last game against Larkin," said Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn. "The injury to Max and the foul trouble for Cole just killed us. Cole was scoring at will when he was on the floor. We just don't have that kind of depth."