York shuts down Elgin in 4th quarter

York boys basketball coach Al Biancalana thought his team was giving Elgin too much room outside the 3-point arc for the first three quarters Tuesday night.

The Dukes changed that in the fourth quarter, getting out on the Maroons' shooters, who had hit 10 3-pointers in the first three quarters.

York did not allow a made 3-pointer in the final 8 minutes to leave Elgin with a 59-54 nonconference victory at Chesbrough Field House.

"We were so late to their shooters early. You get a good shooter in rhythm, he has a chance to make a lot of shots.," Biancalana said. "I thought we did a better job of getting to their shooters and getting them out of rhythm (in the fourth)."

The Maroons (4-16) went 5-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc in the first quarter. Dennis Moore and Jordan Dean each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter to help Elgin take a 19-11 lead.

York got more aggressive defensively in the second quarter, forcing the Maroons into 8 turnovers, and hitting 3-pointers of its own. Cody Kliethermes hit three 3-pointers during an 11-0 run in a 1-minute, 4-second span. The Dukes trailed 27-24 before the run to take a 35-27 halftime lead.

"Early in the year the third quarter was our weakness and now it's the second," Maroons coach Mike Sitter said. "I don't know if that's an improvement or not."

Dean, who finished with a team-high 17 points, again got hot from 3-point territory in the third, hitting three more 3-pointers. Alan Walker and Kory Brown also hit one from behind the arc in the quarter, helping the Maroons take a 47-46 lead. Elgin went 10-for-13 behind the arc in the first three quarters.

"We came out pretty hot," Dean said. "It all starts with the first shot. After we hit a couple shots, we picked up the intensity."

The Dukes (11-6) closed out on the Maroons faster in the fourth, not allowing Elgin to put up many 3-point shots. The Maroons attempted four in the quarter, three in the final minute, missing all of them.

Moore tied the game at 53-53 with a bucket with 5 minutes left. Moore again tied it at 54-54 with 2:44 left with a free throw, but Elgin would not score again. Will Sullivan's driving layup with 2:13 gave the Dukes the lead for good. Kevin Kahovec and Sullivan hit 3 free throws in the final 13.3 seconds to seal the win.

Sullivan led York with 22 points. Evan Fendley added 12, all in the first half. Kliethermes finished with 10. The Dukes shot 56 percent (23-for-41).

Elgin shot 50 percent (20-for-40) from the field and went 10-for-17 on 3-pointers. Moore had 11 points and Brown added 10.