McDonald, ECC stop Benedictine
Ryan McDonald's diving rebound was exactly what the Elgin Community College men's basketball team needed.
After taking a 49-33 halftime lead, the Spartans allowed the Benedictine JV team to claw its way back to a 65-52 game Monday night at the ECC Events Center.
McDonald's diving save flew into forward Trenton Thompson's arms, Thompson converted the basket and gave the Spartans a shot in the arm. ECC went on to defeat the Eagles (1-5) 86-70.
On Benedictine's next trip down the floor, Carliss Henderson stole the ball from Eagles' point guard Pat Noonan, ran the length of the floor and dished an assist to Ryan Harris. The basket marked Harris' second on the second half after the Dundee-Crown alum scored 13 points in the first half. Harris, who led all scorers with 24 points, led ECC's 8 of 13 shooting effort for beyond the 3-point line in the first half. Harris finished the first half going 3 of 5 from long range.
"We just pushed the ball and tried to get it to the open man," said Harris, who added a game-high 11 rebounds. "We tried to feed the open man and we buried down the open shot."
ECC (3-5) was able to build its lead by committing only 6 turnovers in the first half. The Spartans did not cough the ball up during the first 10 minutes, 36 seconds of the game. ECC allowed Benedictine back into the game, however, when it gave the ball up 6 times in its first 10 possessions of the second half.
The Eagles cut the 16-point halftime deficit down to a 57-50 game with some 3-point shooting of their own. Brandon Shaw (11 points) and Brian Genslinger (15 points) each drilled 3-pointers to help cut the lead. Noonan added 4 bombs in the first half and led the Eagles with 19 points.
The Spartans turned the ball over a season-low 14 times in the game. ECC's previous low for turnovers was 19.
Burlington Central grad Corey Rau scored all 11 of his points in the first half. Point guard Kevin Kasinger (14 points) and Henderson (3 steals, 3 assists) each contributed in the victory.
The victory breaks a 2-game losing streak for the Spartans, who dropped games to Harper and South Suburban in the past week.
"This was a big for us to get off a 2-game losing streak," Reed Nosbisch said. "We didn't come away from those two games feeling very good about ourselves. Tonight we shot the ball better and did a better job on the glass."
Girls basketball
North Shore Country Day 44, Elgin Academy 30: The Hilltoppers (2-7, 0-2) lost this Independent School League game to North Shore Country Day. Leading for Elgin Academy was Lauren Steimle with a team-high 8 points. Alyssa Pena and Bianca Swegler each were able to put 5 points on the board for Elgin Academy.
Men's basketball
Judson 94, Davenport 68: Making 58 percent of its shots and canning 10 3-pointers, Judson University (5-3) won its own tournament championship game over Davenport University Saturday night.
JU has now won five of its last six games after a 0-2 start.
Judson's Ilija Bojanic was named the tournament's MVP along with DeWayne Robinson being named to the all-tournament team.
The 3-point shot was popular for Judson as it went 10 of 20 with Streamwood graduate Chris Oates hitting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and finishing with 19 points. Robinson, who led all scorers with 27 points, was 3 of 3. Bojanic hit two 3-pointers and finished with 21 points Justen Boyd was the other double-digit scorer with 10 points. He also had 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
Women's basketball
Davenport 63, Judson 41: Capitalizing on Judson University's 30 turnovers, No. 12 ranked Davenport University (8-0) stayed perfect on the season with a 63-41 win over the Eagles (3-5) Saturday in the championship game of the Judson tournament. This was the fourth nationally ranked team that Judson has faced this season in eight games.
Davenport's Jeanette Woodberry was named the MVP of the tournament. Judson's Kelly Friestad was also named to the team.
Devonaye Henderson led Judson with 7 points and 7 rebounds.