Elgin in semifinals for first time since '99

Elgin boys basketball coach Mike Sitter came into the 36th annual Elgin Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament with a little different mindset for his team than in his previous two seasons as the Maroons' head coach.

“The past two years I would have been nervous about winning that first game and moving into that side of the bracket,” said Sitter, whose first two Elgin teams won consolation championships at their own tournament.

“But we want to step up and face the best competition we can and the next two days we get to do that.”

That's because the Maroons played what might be their most complete game of the season Tuesday, when they knocked off Las Vegas Centennial, a Top 10 team in Nevada, 62-54 in the quarterfinals at Chesbrough Field House.

Elgin (8-2), which won for the third straight game, advances to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since 1999, also the last time the Maroons won the title. They will take on 9-1 Rockford Auburn, the tournament's top seed, in the 6:30 p.m. semifinal today.

“We haven't been there in a while,” said Elgin junior Dennis Moore, who led the Maroons with 22 points Tuesday. “We want to come out successful (today), throughout the tournament and beyond the tournament.”

If the Maroons can continue to play the kind of team basketball they did on Tuesday, the wins could keep coming. In addition to Moore's 22 points, Elgin got 12 from Kory Brown, 10 from Jordan Dean and 8 from Arie Williams as they not only spread the wealth offensively, but played help defense as well as they have all year in forcing the Bulldogs (8-2) into 15 turnovers and just 21 of 58 shooting, including 9-for-31 in the first half.

“We weren't ready and Elgin put it to us so give them credit,” said Centennial coach Todd Allen, a 1988 Elgin High graduate. “We were just a little off today and you're going to have those games now and then.”

The Maroons' torrid pace in the first quarter appeared to catch Centennial off guard. Elgin hit four 3-pointers in the first 8 minutes and grabbed a 22-11 lead it never gave up. Centennial did go on a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and close to within 22-21, but 2 free throws from Dean, a bucket by Matt Andres and a free throw by Brown, along with that aforementioned team defense, staked Elgin to a 28-21 advantage at halftime. The Bulldogs never got closer than 8 in the second half.

“We've been talking all season about coming out strong in the third quarter,” Moore said. “We wanted to extend the lead and we did that by staying consistent. The good thing about this team is that someone steps up every night. We don't care who scores the points.”

While Centennial had a decided advantage on the boards of 39-22, Elgin turned the ball over only 11 times — 4 of those coming after the reserves came in at the end of the game — and shot 23 of 48 for the game.

“We played four consistent quarters today,” Sitter said. “We had a little letdown in the second but once we spread it out they had to come out on us and it opened some things up.

“What I like is we played eight kids today and we got eight good contributions.”

A team spreading the floor as Elgin did at times to protect its early lead is something Allen said his team isn't used to.

“They got a lead and stalled a little and that's something we haven't seen,” said Allen, whose team was held to its lowest point total of the season. “They've got quick guards and they hit some shots early. They were very poised. Give coach Sitter credit.”

Justin Jones and Evan Martin led the Bulldogs with 14 points each. Their leading scorer, senior Aaseem Dixon, was held to 8 points on 3-for-16 shooting.