Schaumburg holds off Elk Grove

Schaumburg and Elk Grove came into their Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover Tuesday seeking to build momentum from successful efforts each team had during the holidays.

The visiting Saxons had won 3 of their last 5 games while the host Grenadiers posted a strong fourth-place finish during their debut at the Maine East Holiday Tournament, splitting their four games there.

Thanks to their ability to first rally from an early second half deficit, control a red-hot shooting performance, and be able to post of pair of successful surges in the second half, Schaumburg earned its third straight win with a 70-63 win at Charles Aldrich Gymnasium to move to 10-6 on the year.

"They (Elk Grove) are a well-coached team that really caused us problems. Tip the hat to them. I thought they were really good," Schaumburg coach Wade Heisler said. "I thought we missed some shots that we need to make. We talked about how this game would be about effort and energy and I thought they outplayed us for most of it. I was glad that we executed some things in the end and give credit to our guys to knock down the shots they needed to and do enough to win."

The Saxons found themselves staring at a 42-33 early second-half hole after Bronson Bartuch drove in the lane for 2 of his game-high 39 points just 47 seconds into the third. It was there that a 14-2 run put them back in the lead 47-44 with 3:12 left in the third.

Schaumburg senior swingman D.J. Wilson, whose 19 points on the night in addition to 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 blocks, spoke of his team's resolve to curtail Bartuch in the second half, holding him to just 12 points after scoring 27 in the first half.

"We came together as a team and sat down and said 'This is the guy we've got to stop. We've got to put in the effort. We've got to bring the energy and keep it going."

That energy would also be put to use as Wilson, along with fellow seniors Nicholas Doroskin (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Fabian Baez (18 points, 8 rebounds), would help steer the Saxons from a 57-57 tie with a 13-6 run over the final 4:31 in which they combined for all 13 points.

Josh Mottley (11 points) connected on a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left that got the Grens (4-12) within 65-63 but no closer as Schaumburg tallied the game's final 7 points with the first 5 coming from the charity stripe.