Bell, Saxons handle Elgin

Schaumburg boys coach Bob Williams called senior guard Perrish Bell, "the glue that kept us together tonight."

Bell played sticky defense and helped ignite the Saxons to a 66-44 nonconference win over visiting Elgin.

The win improved Schaumburg to 10-0 while the Maroons fell to 2-5.

"Last night, I only scored 2 points," said Bell, who scored 14 points, had 4 rebounds and 3 steals. "After last night I had something to prove. We played hard and executed. We came out with a good defensive effort by putting pressure on the ball, which helped the offense."

Trailing the Maroons early 5-4 Schaumburg spun off a 14-0 run over a 1:35 second span for a 18-5 lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter.

Schaumburg took advantage of Elgin jitters in the quarter by converting 6 turnovers into 11 points.

Declan Geraghty started the run with a basket. Bell then stole the ball, and completed a 3 point play. Cully Payne (17 pts, 4 assists) hit for a trey and the Saxons were on their way. Bell scored 12 of his points in the first half.

Schaumburg led 22-11 at the end of the first quarter and 39-17 at halftime.

Josh Spandiary had 8 points and Justin Swiercz 7 for the Saxons.

Marcus Redberg led Elgin with a nice 14-point, 10-rebound effort. Tom Roth added 8 points.

"There's no doubt that our defense helped the offense," Williams said. "When we speed up the game, we look to get some opportunities to score. I wasn't really concerend about a letdown after the Conant game.

"We seldom make a big deal of any one game. We approach every game the same."

Ten different Schaumburg players scored out of the 15 that played.

"We were able to get other players some minutes, and that helps us get better. Now, with a week off before we go to Pontiac we have time to practice on some things."

Does the fact the the Saxons are 10-0 surprise Williams?

"I feel like we should win every game," said Williams. "If we do the things were supposed to do, like play defense, look for good shots and execute we should win our game. Did I think we would be 10-0? Yes, and no. It just shows the work ethic the players have."