St. Charles East shoots past Elgin

The St. Charles East boys basketball team did one of the things it does best on Tuesday night and that is hit a barrage of 3-pointers. The Saints connected on 13 treys in an 85-62 Upstate Eight River Division win at Elgin.

Nathan Ortiz led the East long distance attack with a team-high and career-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers.

"That's how we play," East coach Patrick Woods said. "We just utilize our top strength and that is shooting. We are a good shooting team. We work on it a lot in practice. So we are going to take 3s whenever we can."

On the season the Saints are hitting their 3-point attempts at just over a 40 percent clip. They were a little better than that on Tuesday, connecting on 13 of 27 (48 percent). Ortiz on the other hand was lights out as he made 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

"He has been playing real well," Woods said. "He is a kid that is constantly working on his shot, but he has also really diversified his game by getting to the basket more. That has opened up his game even more."

The Maroons (6-15, 0-7) were able to match the Saints in the first half with six 3-pointers of their own and trailed just 39-36 at the half. However, Elgin could not keep pace in the second half. The Saints outscored the Maroons 46-26 after the break.

"We made some adjustments and played better defensively in the second half," Woods said. "(Elgin) is a much improved team and played us really hard. They had us chasing a lot in the first half. In the second half we just tried to key in on their shooters and limit their options."

Ortiz exploded for 13 of his points in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers to help the Saints pull away. Ortiz capped an 11-0 run midway through the third quarter that extended the East lead to 63-46.

"I always play with a lot of confidence," Ortiz said. "I am the hardest working person I know when it comes to working on my shot. So, my confidence comes from my preparation. I know what is expected of me and I try to step up."

The Saints have now won 3 straight games as they improved to 13-7, 5-4.

"Everyone has found their niche and we are really working hard collectively," Ortiz said. "We don't get down and just keep fighting through any adversity."

Dan Toolsie had 21 points to lead Elgin in scoring. Trey Yarber added 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Justin Hardy added 18 points for the Saints and Mark Musial had a strong game off the bench with 8 points.