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Elgin makes a huge statement with OT win over Geneva

Elgin boys basketball coach Mike Sitter waited 3 long years for the moment when guard Lavion Baldwin's basketball potential would explode all over Chesbrough Field House.

Friday, that day finally arrived in Elgin's 73-64 overtime win over Geneva in Upstate Eight River action, and what timing it was for a Maroons team who needed a season-defining win.

Baldwin, who missed games in previous years due to discipline issues, was as poised as they come in the game's final 8 minutes and couldn't be stopped, scoring 10 of his 15 points.

The senior scored the first 4 points of OT on layups and pushed the lead to 6 on one from the right block with 2:10 left. It lifted the Maroons (12-4, 3-3), who trailed 3 times in the fourth and survived Bennett Fuzak's game-high 23 points and five 3-pointers to grab their eighth-straight win, while Geneva (12-4, 3-3) gave up more than 53 points for the first time this season.

"I had mentally beat him for three years and he's finally come around and matured as a player," Sitter said of Baldwin. "By far the best game of his high school career. And I hope he enjoys every second of it."

"I just felt like it was time to step up," said Baldwin, who also had 2 steals. "All day at school we've talked about this game and we said if we win this game, it's a statement game. A lot of people had been doubting us and for me personally, the last three years haven't been too good and I haven't gotten a lot of wins."

The style and tempo favored Elgin, which forced 15 turnovers and never trailed by more than 4. Reggie Cole looked like Reggie Miller at times and kept the Maroons in it with five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 21 points, while Desmond Douglas scored 14 of his 17 in the final 12 minutes. Courtese Cooper added 13 points and 5 blocks as Elgin only committed 5 turnovers and matched the Vikings bucket for bucket after missing their first 5 shots to start.

"By far this is our most level performance this year," Sitter said. "They came out with the intensity. We kept the same intensity for four straight quarters and that's huge for us. We left it all out there for five periods and it stayed there."

Elgin shot 9-for-15 in the fourth and overtime for 53.5 percent clip in the second half. Geneva, which received 12 points off the bench from Jordan Vedder, finished 5-for-20 shooting the last 12 minutes after a 45 percent first half and a 3-point halftime lead. As Elgin sped things up, Geneva didn't seem comfortable after leading 58-56 with 1:53 left.

"It was a tight game at the end and we didn't finish," said Vikings coach Phil Ralston. "I know there were a lot of game changes but really the tempo was not anywhere where we wanted."

Douglas defined the tempo on a 3-point play to tie matters at 51, a 3 to tie at 54 and again at 58 on a layup with 1:40 left. Douglas had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed a layup after he stripped Cole Navigato (14 points, 3 rebounds) near Geneva's rim and milked the final 1:24, but redeemed himself with 6 free throws in OT. Elgin went 13 of 16 from the stripe.

"I felt like I let my team down the first three quarters." Douglas said. "The fourth I told my teammates this is our quarter, let's show everybody what we're all about."

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