Four horsemen enjoy ride

DEKALB -- In recent seasons they were the four faces on Elgin basketball's Mt. Rushmore.

Opponents could carve it in stone when they took the floor against the Maroons for the last three years that they would be dealing with guard Jeremy Granger, forward Kenny Williams and center D'Angelo Stewart. And they had to deal with guard Armani Williams for four seasons.

As much a fixture of an Elgin winter as unplowed side streets, Elgin's four senior horsemen bore the weight of great expectations coming into this season and delivered when it counted, making an improbable run to the Class 4A Elite Eight before losing to Zion-Benton 64-50 at the NIU supersectional on Tuesday night.

As juniors, this group lost a regional title game in overtime at St. Charles East, leaving them one last season to finally realize the potential many observers believed this group possessed all along.

Though they stood a mere 6-7 after Christmas, these Maroons never stopped working to reach their goals. They re-bonded around interim coach Mike Sitter's defense-first philosophy in the second half of the season and reinvigorated Elgin High's dormant fan base by winning 16 of their last 19 games.

"Nobody thought that we would get this far," said Kenny Williams, who fouled out with 13.3 seconds left after scoring 6 points. "Nobody had any faith. Only the coaches and the people inside our locker room believed we could do this. But we all started taking care of business and coming together. We just came up short tonight."

Elgin didn't lack from effort against Zion-Benton. The Maroons were simply beaten by a deeper, bigger, more athletic team. But the loss didn't obscure their appreciation of what they had done.

"It just feels great to get this far," said Stewart, who was taken out of the game along with Granger with 13 seconds left to applause from the Elgin faithful. "I mean, I'm sad that I'm not playing with these guys anymore, but I feel great that we got here. I'm glad I made it here to the Elite Eight. I think we could have gone farther, but what can you do now?"

Granger, whose will to win was never more evident than in the sectional victories over Hononegah and Boylan when he followed clutch shot with clutch shot, lifted his arms in the air as he left the floor for the final time in a salute to the Elgin fans who came out to support the Maroons in force at NIU.

Sitter wrapped an arm around his senior point guard as he exited for the final time and longtime assistant Jeff Howard followed with a full-on hug.

Granger was clearly disappointed after the game, but it was also clear he felt vindicated by what he and his senior mates had accomplished.

"I think we proved something to ourselves as a group," Granger said. "I mean, we were the underdogs. We would come out thinking, 'What are our chances?' We just have to go out there and play and whatever happens, happens.

"Then we started winning, and our confidence started building every game. We became a family and this is how far we made it. We just came up short tonight."

Armani Williams, who finished his career as the school's all-time second-leading scorer, fouled out with 1:27 left to play after scoring 9 points on 3-of-16 shooting.

Though not everything went as scripted during his four years, Williams was glad to end his career with Elgin back in the Elite Eight.

"I wouldn't have it any different," Armani said. "We worked really hard, and I'm glad I spent my time at Elgin with those guys."