South Elgin takes Fenton title with win over Naperville Central
Coach Chaz Taft brought his South Elgin Storm onto his old stomping ground, and left with a tournament title.
Fenton alumnus Taft and his three-year-old basketball program beat Naperville Central 49-45 in Friday's title game of Fenton's Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving boys basketball tournament.
"Coach told us we're the guys who built the program, so to get this (title) makes it that much more special," said Storm senior guard Alex Sanchez.
South Elgin (4-0) saw three players named to the all-tournament team in Sanchez, Tommy Childs, and Daniel Lopez.
"We did this as a team," Taft said. "The only way we beat teams like (Naperville Central) is if all five guys play together as one."
Naperville Central (3-1) had tourney MVP Drew Crawford and Dave Mallet named to the all-tournament team. The Storm's approach to the Redhawks heading into Saturday's title game was clear.
"Keep fresh bodies on Crawford and try to wear him out," Sanchez said. "Pressure defense was the key."
The Storm also feature no shortage of guards capable of taking care of the basketball and getting into the lane to wreak havoc.
"South Elgin played great. They executed and did what they had to do," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "They've got good dribble penetration, they kept their composure, and they made shots."
The Redhawks led 13-11 after a quarter but the Storm grabbed a 25-20 lead by halftime. Crawford scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, and his squad started the third quarter with a 9-0 run to take the lead.
South Elgin answered with a scoring run, and regained the lead at 36-33 by quarter's end. The fourth quarter went nip-and-tuck down the stretch, and the Storm essentially won the game at the free throw line.
South Elgin went 9-of-12 from the line, while the Redhawks struggled.
"We shot 11, we made six, and a lot of those we missed were one-and-ones," Kramer said. "But we were down five or seven points a couple different times, and our kids fought back. All you can ask from kids is to give you a chance to win the game, and they did that."
Childs led the Storm with 11 points, going 6-of-9 from the line in the fourth quarter, while Jeffrey Lewis hit some big shots in finishing with 10 points. The 6-foot-9 Lopez pulled down 13 rebounds to go with 10 points on the night.
"These kids have been working hard, all year round," Taft said of his Storm. "It's been great to see them go from freshmen to seniors."
"Defense and free throws had a big impact on the game," Childs said. "That, and we had confidence coming into the game."