Harvest Christian wins rematch over Elgin Academy
Playing outside-in basketball did not work for the Harvest Christian Academy boys team the last time it faced Elgin Academy.
Playing inside-out worked perfectly in Thursday's rematch as the Lions prevailed 66-38 in a Class 1A Westminster Christian regional semifinal.
No. 2 Harvest Christian (16-8) lost to No. 10 Elgin Academy (12-18) by 4 points in December, largely because the Lions shot 3-of-27 from 3-point range.
This time, they emphasized getting the ball inside to 6-foot-7 senior forward Jack Nohava throughout the first half. He scored 15 of his 17 points before halftime, mostly in the paint.
That loosened the perimeter defense for shooting guard Matt Ellett. The sophomore, who was held to 6 points in the first meeting, sank 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range in a game-high 21-point performance.
"That was an emphasis: don't settle," second-year Harvest Christian coach Bryan Bradshaw said of establishing Nohava early. "Get it in there, get Jack going inside and then let the outside stuff come."
"Jack's huge," Ellett said. "He's our best player. He's our team. We looked for him a lot because him inside opens up the outside. It works."
Harvest Christian (16-8) made 8 of 12 tries from 3-point range (67 percent) and 24 of 44 field-goal attempts (54.5 percent).
"When we space the floor, we play pretty well," Nohava said. "Knocking down open shots is a huge thing and that's what we did. It's what Matt did, at least."
Harvest Christian advances to the regional final today at 7 p.m. against No. 3 Yorkville Christian (18-11), which defeated No. 5 Parkview Christian 68-66 in the second semifinal. The Lions seek their second regional title in three years.
The loss ended a positive season for Elgin Academy, which improved by 7 wins year over year. The Hilltoppers' regional playoff victory on Monday was their first since Feb. 21, 2012.
"Obviously, we wanted to get farther in the regional but I definitely feel satisfied that we were able to turn things around and get a playoff win," Elgin Academy senior guard Noah Townsend said after scoring 11 points.
The Hilltoppers were supported in both regional games by a lively, vocal crowd.
"I am just so impressed by the Elgin Academy community and their ability to get behind us as a team," coach Rick Williams said. "Everyone was here - the kids, parents of the kids, parents whose kids graduated years ago. They just stood behind us all the way and we appreciated that."
Junior Ryan Ulrichs scored 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for Elgin Academy.