Elgin knocks off Schurz to move to 3-0
After a couple blowout wins the first two days at the West Chicago Turkey Classic the Elgin High boys basketball team had a much tougher test on Wednesday night.
The Maroons were up to the challenge as they knocked off Schurz 57-54 in battle right down to the finish to improve to 3-0.
Courtese Cooper led the Maroons with 17 points and 24 rebounds.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game and I thought we responded to their athleticism very well," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "We tried our best to get ready for them with a walk through practice today, but that's tough because they play about seven different defenses and have a lot of weapons on offense. But we did a nice job against their athletes. A lot of kids contributed for us and we were able to switch going big some times and smaller and quicker other times. Having that versatility really helps us."
The Maroons fell behind 15-6 early on, but went on a 12-0 run to pull ahead 18-15 early in the second quarter. The Maroons never trailed the rest of the way and led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter.
Schurz didn't go away easily, as it chipped away at the deficit and finally pulled to within 44-41 with 5:45 to play.
However, Elgin responded with back-to back 3-pointers from Tim Wolf and point guard Latrell Hudson to expand the lead to 50-41.
The Maroons weren't out of the woods yet though as a flurry of turnovers (7 in the fourth quarter) allowed Schurz to get back to within 51-48 with 2 minutes left.
Hudson, despite being just a sophomore, got the Maroons back under control with his ballhandling down the stretch and Titus Ahrens hit 4 crucial free throws in the final minute to help ice the win.
"I'll tell you Latrell did a real nice job playing in his first close game," Sitter said. "It's a little scary when a sophomore is the most composed player on the floor. He has a great attitude. He made some mistakes earlier in the quarter, but he doesn't let them get him down. He came right back and he rarely makes the same mistake twice."
Schurz had a desperation last second shot from beyond half court shot bounce off the backboard.
Cooper was a beast on the boards and also had 6 blocks to go with his 24 rebounds.
"That's my job," Cooper said. "I have some other guys helping out in there, but I know I'm the tallest guy out there and it's ultimately my responsibility to go up and get the ball. It was intense, but that's the way I like it."
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