Stevenson's 'D' sinks Elgin

The old axiom that defense wins basketball games is never more true than early in the season, when teams are struggling to find their shots.

Stevenson proved as much Tuesday night, holding Elgin to 3 field goals through the first 20 minutes of play en route to a 55-32 win at the Bison Classic in Buffalo Grove.

"That's a constant," said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose of the Patriots' defensive effort, "and we try to make it a constant. We make sure we're ready to play good defense, and the shots will fall eventually."

Elgin played hard as well on D, but the Maroons were limited due to a huge height disadvantage.

Stevenson ran out 6-foot-6 Grant Johnson (game-high 19 points, 6 rebounds), 6-6 Henry Wood (10 points) and 6-5 Jeffrey Arenson (9 points) on the front line, while Elgin's tallest starter was 6-foot-2.

"They pushed," said Elgin coach Mike Sitter," and we didn't push back. We played like a bunch of 6-foot kids."

Trailing big at halftime, the Maroons were able to rally.

Senior Tom Roth (14 points) sank a 60-footer at the third-quarter buzzer,then Alex Kanlic (6 points) opened the fourth with a bucket to help Elgin close to within 39-25.

"I thought we played the best half-court defense since the first day of practice," said Sitter. "I counted that we took at least four charges. At times, we were able to match their physical play.

"We did a good job of ignoring outside circumstances and focused on playing basketball."

That was as close as Elgin would get as Grant Johnson scored 10 points down the stretch to help Stevenson close the game on on a 16-7 run.

"Grant had a a real nice game," said Ambrose. "He caught the ball well - he's got soft hands and a soft touch. I didn't think they had anyone who could match up with him. I saw him smile and I knew he had a lot of fun out there."

Mike Richards chipped in 5 points for Elgin including a 3-pointer, but the Patriots, who attempted only 3 3-pointers for the game, held the Maroons to 3-of-13 from behind the arc.

"That's the umbrella defense," said Ambrose. "We spread out, focus on the 3-point line, and try not to let them get any good shots off."

Jeff Leavitt and Nate Johnson both scored 4 points for Stevenson.

"We had balanced scoring," said Ambrose, "and we scored at a nice pace."