South Elgin makes it 6-0 with win over Hampshire

You can put another tally in the win column for the South Elgin Storm.

Behind a strong night from Jeffrey Lewis from behind the arc and a strong second-half performance from Alex Sanchez, the Storm (6-0) came back from an early deficit to defeat nonconference opponent Hampshire 54-43 in boys basketball action at South Elgin Saturday night.

The Storm took its first and only lead of the game late in the first half as Lewis hit a 3-pointer for an 18-17 lead. He added another to send his team into halftime with a 23-19 lead.

"We knew they were going to come out in a zone and we were able to pass the ball to each other," said Lewis, who scored a game-high 16 points. "My teammates found me and I shot it like I do in practice."

The Whip-Purs (2-3) kept it close in the third quarter, coming within 35-33 with 34.8 seconds remaining in the quarter after two straight 3-pointers from Mike Kozenczak.

However, Sheldon Chaney hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the Storm a 38-33 lead while a 4 of 4 performance at the line for Sanchez in the fourth capped a 10 point second half. Hampshire didn't come closer than 5 the rest of the game.

The Whip-Purs came out strong as Shyler Ralphs (11 points) tallied 9 of the team's 13 first-quarter points to hand the Storm a 13-9 deficit. Kozenczak led the Whips with 14 points on the night while Justin Bieber finished with 8.

"(Shyler's) the one kid strong enough to take it to the bucket," said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett. "He did a nice job in the first quarter.

"They came out and played a pretty good zone," said South Elgin coach Chaz Taft of the Whip-Purs. "We just worked our offense and got our shots."

Hampshire struggled to handle the ball at times, leading to 20 turnovers.

"Defensively, they're a terrific team," Barnett said of the Storm. "One thing that bothers me is 20 turnovers. Part of it was their defense, but you can't turn the ball over 20 times."