Osborne sparks S. Elgin vs. VH

Kyle Osborne sat on the bench for the South Elgin boys basketball team the entire first half Saturday night.

When coach Chaz Taft called on him in the third quarter Osborne was ready and didn't hesitate.

Osborne hit a key 3-pointer the first time he touched the ball to increase the Storm's lead to six and that propelled South Elgin to a 52-42 nonconference home victory over Vernon Hills.

"It's great to be ready to come off the bench and be ready to go," Osborne said. "I feel confident because I was doing that last year too."

The Storm (8-8) led 23-19 at halftime and came out in the second half looking to get the ball inside to 6-foot-9 center Daniel Lopez. Lopez scored 6 points in the opening 3:15 of the half. The Cougars (7-8) began collapsing their defense on Lopez, who finished with a team-high 12 points.

Taft then called on Osborne. With the Storm leading 33-30, Osborne nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner.

"Kyle Osborne was a spark off the bench," Taft said. "He hit that big 3 when they were sagging off (Lopez) and concentrating on the post."

Osborne added a reverse layup and another layup off a Jordan Dobler steal early in the fourth quarter as the Storm took control.

South Elgin led 39-35 entering the fourth and the Osborne baskets, which came 20 seconds apart, made the score 45-37 with 5:15 remaining.

Vernon Hills never got closer than 5, 45-40, the remainder of the game.

The Cougars made only 1 field goal in the fourth quarter. That came with 3.9 seconds remaining by Kenny Rideout, who scored a game-high 17 points and added 7 rebounds. They also committed 6 turnovers in the quarter.

"All of our action was taking place too far from the basket," Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarty said. "We went stagnant for a while there."

Only four Vernon Hills players scored. DaVaris Daniels had 12, while Riaz Hoveydai added 10. Chris Morgan sank a 3.

Lopez added 7 rebounds to go with his 12 points. Alex Sanchez and Jeffrey Lewis each added 9. Osborne and Josh Glenn had 7 as the Storm had plenty of scoring balance.

"We wanted to come with a lot of energy and attack," Lewis said. "It started in warmups and carried throughout the game."