Elgin Academy overtakes Harvest Christian in 4th quarter
Elgin Academy boys basketball coach Rick Williams said he felt optimistic heading to the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 46-42 comeback win over visiting Harvest Christian.
His Hilltoppers had committed 23 turnovers already and were shooting just 31 percent from the field (11 of 36), yet still found themselves within 5 points of the lead.
"We were playing good defensively but we hadn't shot the ball well yet," Williams said. "We hadn't found some of the easy layups that were on the back end of their press. In the fourth quarter, we found them."
The Hilltoppers won the fourth period 18-9 by solving full-court pressure a few times and by finally making shots from the perimeter. They made 7 of 11 fourth-quarter field goals overall, including 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range.
Junior Ryan Ulrichs led the way for Elgin Academy (8-5). The transfer from Grayslake Central scored 8 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and hauled down 17 rebounds. That offset a 16-point, 6-rebound performance by 6-foot-6 Harvest Christian senior Jack Nohava.
"They were a decent team and (Nohava) was really good," Ulrichs said. "We just started clicking."
Harvest Christian (5-2) led 38-35 after sophomore guard Matt Ellett made a pair of free throws and later assisted on Nohava's inside bucket with 4:50 left.
The Hilltoppers responded with an 8-2 run, which could have been worse had Ulrichs made more than 1 of 4 free-throw attempts after a technical foul was called on the Lions with 2:03 to play.
Elgin Academy took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by sophomore Cameron Agno with 2:35 remaining.
"We had a couple of defensive slip-ups and they weren't missing anything," Nohava said. "I don't know the stats, but it seemed like they were making everything."
The Lions drew withing 43-42 on two free throws from Nohava with 1:31 left, but Elgin Academy junior guard Christian Rodriguez responded 15 seconds later with a 3-pointer, his second of the game.
The Lions failed to connect on another field goal. In fact, missed shots were a nightlong trend for Harvest Christian, which made only 12 of 58 attempts overall (21 percent) and 3 of 26 from 3-point range (12 percent).
"Those open shots, we'll put them in," said Ellett, who finished with 6 points and 3 steals. "I'm not worried about that at all. We just need to bring the level of energy that we always bring and we'll be all right. I think we just got out-hustled."
Senior guard Grant Young finished with 12 points and 7 steals for Harvest Christian, which hosts South Beloit on Friday.
Senior guard Noah Townsend scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for Elgin Academy, which hosts Yorkville Christian on Friday.
Jack
We had a couple of defensive slip ups and they took advantage of it. And they weren't missing anything. I don't know the stats, but it seemed like they were making everything.