After loss to Marengo, Elgin bounces back to beat Maine West
The roller coaster ride at the Burlington Central MLK Holiday Tournament ended on the upswing Monday for the Elgin boys basketball team. After a disappointing lackluster loss to Marengo earlier in the day Elgin bounced back for a 76-63 win over Maine West to end the tournament 2-2.
Lavion Baldwin had a monster game with a career-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers. Desmond Douglas had 16 points.
"We struggled with consistency the whole tournament," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "I think the difference in this game was we had more bodies on the floor and just had them going shorter stints so we stayed fresh. We just told them to play as hard they could for that short period and leave it all on the floor. It was a good chance to get everyone some floor time and hopefully that bodes well for the future."
Baldwin got it going early with 9 points in the first quarter to help the Maroons build an 18-11 lead that they never surrendered.
"We came out with a lot of intensity," Baldwin said. "We didn't want to go home with a third loss. The difference for me has been being able to be more aggressive. I hurt my foot at the end of the football season and that kind of slowed me down at the beginning of the basketball season. But now I'm feeling a lot better."
The Maroons (14-6) extended the lead to 37-26 at the half, but really blew the game open in the third quarter when they outscored the Warriors 29-15. Baldwin had 10 points in the quarter, including a pair of 3s.
"Part of it has just been a growing up process with him," Sitter said. "I think he is recognizing what he can take advantage of on the court. He's always been a great shooter when he catches the ball in rhythm. Now he's also taking the ball more to the rim."
Baldwin also led the Maroons in scoring with 15 points in the 70-51 loss to Marengo earlier in the day. However, the Indians' Benjamin Volkening lit up the Maroons for 29 points, including six 3-pointers. Elgin only trailed 35-28 at the half before Marengo pulled away. The Indians made 20 of 21 free throws to help seal the win.
Matt Kentgen led Maine West with 21 points in the loss to Elgin. Maine West trailed by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter before closing the game on a 13-0 run, but it was a too little too late for the Warriors, who finished the tournament 0-4.