Elgin too fast for Huntley

Speed and quickness.

Elgin's boys basketball team enjoys an abundance of both and Huntley couldn't contain it.

Forcing 25 Huntley turnovers, the visiting Maroons turned 10 of those miscues into layups in posting a 64-57 nonconference victory in Huntley Tuesday night.

"We aren't used to facing that type of quickness," said Huntley coach Will Benson. 'Their pressure made us rush our offense. We didn't want to play at that frenetic of pace. They guarded and contested our 3-point shooters better in the second half. It was a good effort by our team."

The upset-minded Red Raiders (7-18), playing without junior center Olare Oladipo (groin), connected on 7-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half for 58 percent and led the Maroons 35-30 after 16 minutes of play.

Huntley, on a 3-pointer by Mathew Seng, led 42-34 with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

Elgin (16-8), which led the Red Raiders 18-8 late in the first quarter, seized control of the game with a crucial 10-0 run. Reggie Cole, with a pair of 3-pointers and a 10-footer in the lane, led the Maroons' surge with 8 points.

After the run, Elgin led 44-42 with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.

Elgin's biggest lead of the game was 11, 59-48, after a putback by Courtese Cooper with 2:33 left in the game.

Desmond Douglas buried 4 free throws in the last 30 seconds to cement the win for the Maroons.

"We played much better fundamental defense in the second half and guarded the 3-point shot better, " said Elgin coach Mike Sitter. "We are quicker than most teams we play and we were able to get some steals and some easy fastbreak baskets."

Douglas, who converted 9-of-12 from the free throw line, led the Maroons with 22 points, 5 steals and 4 assists.

"We stayed with the press the whole game and were able to get some easy baskets," said Douglas. "We guarded the 3-pointer much better in the second half.''

With 3 treys, Cole added 16 points for the winners while Cooper scored 6 points but was a defensive presence with 9 blocked shots.

Huntley, which converted only 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half, was led by Makomborero Tizora with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Kyle Nwogu tallied 14 points with 10 boards and Seng scored 13 with 3 treys. Jadrian Flores contributed 9 points.