Cole, Streamwood handle attention, Elgin

Elgin tried everything it could to slow down Streamwood's Keenon Cole on Tuesday night with zones, box-and-ones, double teams, and some times triple teams.

However, it was to no avail as the 6-foot-7 senior powered his way to 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the visiting Sabres to an 80-68 Upstate Eight Conference win.

Streamwood (12-17, 8-8) has now won 4 of its last 5 games with just 2 games left in the regular season. Cole got plenty of help from his teammates on the perimeter as they knocked down eight 3-pointers.

"We had some guys step and make some shots and we were able to get Keenon the ball where we needed to," Streamwood coach Kent Payne said. "We just have a bunch of guys who love to compete and right now we are playing our best ball of the season."

Elgin jumped out to a 14-8 lead, but the Sabres responded with a 15-0 run to pull ahead 23-14. Cole had 10 points in the first quarter.

"They came out real aggressive against me," Cole said. "I just had to keep fighting hard the whole game. I was switching off the blocks and doing everything I could to get open. My teammates did a great job of finding me. They made some big shots, too. They really kept us in the game. I was really proud of them."

Elgin (5-22, 2-14) briefly regained the lead 33-32 early in the third quarter, but it was all Sabres from that point on. A 15-2 run put the Sabres in control with a 47-35 lead. Zach Marquez had 7 points during the pivotal stretch, including a 3-pointer that got it all started. Marquez finished with 16 points.

"The energy was terrific," Payne said. "Our press was much more effective in the second half. We got some big steals and turned them into points."

Darryl Luce added 15 points for Streamwood and Luke Pentecost had 11.

Cole finished strong with 10 points in the fourth quarter to help ice the win.

"Obviously we wanted to take him out of the game as much as possible," Elgin coach David Hess said. "But that's easier said than done. He's a tremendous talent. He can handle the ball and finishes strong at the basket. Plus they had other guys making some shots, too. So, they were very tough to defend. I'm proud of the way our guys competed, but we just have to continue to work on consistent good decision making."

Xavier Bonds had 24 points to lead Elgin in scoring. Trey Yarber added 14 points.