Elgin dumps Streamwood for 7th straight win
Streamwood managed to outscore visiting Elgin in 3 of 4 quarters on Tuesday night, but while the Sabres were landing pesky jabs the Maroons were delivering a knockout punch in the second quarter.
Elgin outscored Streamwood 28-4 in the second quarter and went on to a 65-52 win in Upstate Eight Conference River Division boys basketball action.
Desmond Douglas, who sat the first quarter because of disciplinary reasons along with fellow starter Jakub Zajac, came off the bench to spark the Maroons with a game-high 19 points. The Maroons (11-4, 2-3) have now won 7 in a row. However, it was their first game since December 23rd.
"We played like it has been a while since we have had a game a lot of the times," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "We were just very inconsistent. We would have spurts like in the second quarter where we looked like world beaters and other times it looked like the Bad News Bears could have beat us."
Douglas scored 13 of his points in the pivotal second quarter to help the Maroons erase a 17-14 deficit and pull ahead 42-21 by halftime.
"As a leader on the time it was my job to come in and make things happen," Douglas said. "Whether it be on offense or defense or even doing the little things like getting on the floor for a loose ball."
The Maroons' defense turned the tide forcing 10 turnovers and holding the Sabres to just 2 of 13 shooting in the second quarter.
"We had two regular starters who sat in the first quarter but brought a lot of energy once they got a chance," Sitter said. "We got on a roll where we played aggressive on defense, hit the boards, and made the extra pass. They fed off each other and it got contagious."
Courtese Cooper had a solid all-around game with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots.
"We keep gaining a lot of maturity and learning how to win," Cooper said. "The defense stepped up for us with the traps and the pressure. Our best game is in transition. I just do my job and protect the rim."
Reggie Cole added 16 points for the Maroons, and Lavion Baldwin had 12.
The Sabres (3-13, 1-5) managed to get back to within 9 points early in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer.
"We really dug ourselves a hole in the second quarter that we couldn't get out of," Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn said. "It was a frustrating game for us because we had some stretches where we played well and then to play like that in the second quarter is very disappointing."
Joey O'Halloran had 15 points on five 3-pointers to lead the Sabres in scoring. Phillip Cruz had 12 points in the post. Jallel Jenkins added 11 and Brendon Marton had 10.