Wauconda holds off Elgin
Frustration boiled over in the Elgin locker room at halftime of Saturday morning's 83-75 loss to Wauconda at Marengo, and that was probably a good thing.
Trailing by 14 after the Bulldogs smacked Elgin with an 11-0 run to close the half, the Maroons cleared the air.
“We had a little argument as a team, saying what we need to do and what we can get better at,” junior guard Desmond Douglas said. “We were all yelling at each other this and this. Finally, before we left out, we shook each other's hands and said ‘C'mon, let's compete. Let's compete.' And that's how we competed in the second half.”
Down 16 points entering the fourth quarter, Elgin (2-7) used a full-court press to get back in the game. The Maroons forced 6 Wauconda turnovers, most of which led to transition layups. The 24-10 run, capped by 2 Lavion Baldwin free throws, trimmed the Wauconda lead to 68-66 with 3:50 to play.
However, the Bulldogs recovered and held on for the win by relying on their bread and butter: 6-foot-6 senior Ricky Sidlowski and 6-foot-7 senior Ben Carlson.
After solving the Elgin press, Sidlowski answered Baldwin's free throws with an easy layup from a heads-up Carlson feed to make it a 4-point game. Sidlowski then followed an empty Elgin possession with a putback to stake the Bulldogs to a 6-point lead with 2:10 remaining.
“When we got caught up in the backcourt is when they made their run,” Carlson said. “We just kind of took a step back and calmed down.”
Sidlowski and Carlson combined to score 10 points in a 12-4 run that sealed Wauconda's second win of this season against the Maroons. The Bulldogs (7-3) defeated Elgin on Nov. 24 in the season opener for both teams, 59-33.
Sidlowski (7 rebounds) finished with a season-best 25 points, while Carlson tied his season high with 21 points to go with 10 rebounds.
“We got 25 and 21 points from our two bigs and some solid rebounds from them as well,” Wauconda coach Scott Leutschwager said. “ It's really a good advantage for us.”
Baldwin scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half to lead all scorers. It was the type of breakout game coach Mike Sitter and his staff have been waiting for from the mercurial junior.
“That's his first good half of basketball this season,” Sitter said. “We've been begging him to come out and play and attack the rim and not go through things half speed and he finally came out and did it. I don't know what it is, but he's got to find it all the time or he's going to be having a seat next to me.”
Junior Zach Lahrman finished with 16 points and 3 assists for the Bulldogs. Chaquille Bennett scored 15 points for the Maroons via five 3-pointers.
Both teams resume play at the 65th Annual E.C. Nichols Holiday Classic at Marengo on Monday. Wauconda plays Sycamore at 3 p.m. Elgin faces Rockford Christian at 9 a.m. Sycamore defeated Rockford Christian 65-45 in the tournament opener Saturday.