Conference title in hand, Elgin CC ready for postseason

What a difference a year makes.

Last season, the Elgin Community College men's basketball team finished with a rock-solid 21-10 mark.

But heartbreak was wedged in the middle of that record thanks to a loss in its last regular-season game that cost the Spartans a share of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference.

A year later, the Spartans have taken heartbreak and stomped a mud hole in it. ECC heads into its first Region IV Division II District 4 game Thursday at home the owners of a 20-10 record and fresh off claiming a share of the ISCC title - the program's first since the Joe Wharton days in the 1990s (ECC won then-Skyway league titles in 1994, 1995 and 1997 under the direction of Wharton).

"We looked at the roster this year and thought we had an even better team," ninth-year head coach and former ECC player Reed Nosbisch said.

Nosbisch said strong rebounding, consistent ball distribution and limiting turnovers have aided the Spartans' plight this season.

"Whenever we get down, we are never out of a game," he said. "Like a lot of teams do, we hit a rough patch where we lost three of four in a 7-day period. We rebounded from that. We told the guys if they want to win the conference title they have to buckle down and take care of their own business."

Moving the ball around has resulted in a balanced attack for Nosbisch, who won his 100th career game at ECC earlier this season. Burlington Central alum Brett Rau, recently named the conference player of the year, leads the Spartans in scoring at around 15 points per game. Joining Rau on the all-Region team is A.J. Washington, who averages 12.5 points a contest. Washington, a St. Charles East product, transferred from Wisconsin-Platteville. Rau and Washington have been nominated for All-America honors.

Dalton Shaner, a Highland Community College transfer via Lanark-Eastland High and a second-team all-conference choice, chips in 13 points a game.

Rau scored all of 76 points last season as a freshman. He's scored about six times that total this season. "Brett accepted his role on a 21-10 team and waited his turn and has shined," said Nosbisch.

Other key contributors for the Spartans include Streamwood alum Jacob Siewert, South Elgin product Ryne Lundy, Indiana product Max Escamilla and sixth-man Chris Mahoney (Crystal Lake South), who recently injured his knee.

"Reed put together a great team," Siewert said. "That inspired us. We all want to play a part for him. We're just like any good basketball team. Everybody plays their roles."

Rau said team chemistry also comes into play with this year's squad. "We're all pretty close," he said. "We enjoy hanging out with each other and we're a pretty unselfish team. We get some great contributions from a lot of different guys."

Even more impressive is the fact ECC excelled on the road, which is exactly where it will head if it wins its playoff opener Thursday. At one point in January, Nosbisch, who feels a majority of the seven sophomores on the team will play at the four-year level next season, estimated the team had traveled 2,149 miles with 4 road games left to play. ECC went 6-1 in road conference games this season. The Spartans had to win their last 3 conference games in order to secure a share of the title - two of those three were played away from the ECC Events Center.

"We've played better on the road," said Nosbisch. "I told the guys at the beginning of the season that the schedule stinks, but in the end it's going to make us better. As the season progressed we became mentally tough. These guys never cease to amaze me."

ECC last advanced to a region championship game in 2012. Nosbisch has either been an assistant or head coach on both ECC teams that reached regional title games.

"The guys hung the wood numbers on the wall for our conference title. That was nice," Nosbisch said of the program tradition that was recently carried out. "But Wright and Olive-Harvey could care less. They are coming here to beat us. We have to make sure we focus on these games coming up."

Rau added: "We need to keep playing how we've been playing. When we move the ball well we hit a lot of open shots and when we actively communicate out there, we're have a lot of fun playing."

ECC, the No. 1 seed, hosts the winner of the region play-in game between Wright (2-27) and Olive-Harvey (10-19) Thursday. A win sends the Spartans to the region semifinal game Sunday at 6 p.m. at Waubonsee Community College against either Black Hawk (14-14) or Morton (18-12).