Westminster hangs on over Elgin Academy

As soon as Elgin Academy needed to, it grabbed rebounds.

The Hilltoppers entered the fourth quarter of Tuesday's game against Westminster Christian trailing 31-21, with the Warriors owning a 29-13 advantage on the glass.

Elgin Academy outrebounded its taller opponent 11-5 in the final period and came within a basket, but couldn't pull out the win falling 46-44 in the Westminster Christian Thanksgiving Tournament.

"I was trying to motivate them," Hilltoppers coach Everette Stephens said. "In the last part of the game when it counted they were (rebounding)."

Paul Leonardis, who led all players with 23 points and 10 boards, scored 11 points in the final period and Javon McDonald added all 10 of his in the second half for EA.

Westminster Christian went just 3 of 4 in the final period and was 9 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Warriors (2-0) were 12 of 27 overall, which didn't sit well with coach Bruce Firchau.

"We almost conceded defeat from the jaws of victory," he said. "We were 12 of 27 from the free-throw line. We can't give points away like that."

Joe Vanden Bos was 5 of 7 in the fourth quarter for the Warriors, including sinking a pair of foul shots with 5 second left to play to put Westminster up 46-42. Also contributing big for the Warriors was sophomore center Ian Dutcher. He led the Warriors with 14 points and finished with 9 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive end.

"I was just going up for the ball and boxing out," said Dutcher, who added 4 blocks. "I'm getting a little more confident. We were just doing good boxing out."

The boxing out led Westminster to a 26-18 halftime advantage. Elgin Academy (0-2) was out-rebounded 18-7 in the first half. The Hilltoppers also scored just 3 points in the third period before exploding for 23 in the fourth.

Vanden Bos added 11 points in the victory, nailing a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter. Dan Graves dished out 4 assists.