Hoffman denies D-C shot at semis

Hoffman Estates' 50-42 victory over Dundee-Crown in the winner's bracket of the 34th Annual Elgin Holiday Tournament on Tuesday night was just plain weird.

The Hawks turned the ball over once a minute for the first nine minutes of the game, launched only 29 shots and guards Luke Mead and Kemill Long were both held without a field goal.

Nevertheless, the Hawks improved to 10-0 and advanced to Friday's 8 p.m. semifinal against Glenbrook South, thanks to an 8-0 fourth-quarter run.

Dundee-Crown (6-2) pulled within 33-32 with 6:34 left in the game on a putback of his own miss by Charles Kimbrough.

Hoffman Estates responded with a jumper from senior Chris Hall. Then Lance Vesper went to work.

A 6-foot-7 junior, Vesper followed up missed shots on the Hawks' ensuing 2 possessions with putbacks of the respective offensive rebounds for easy buckets. With momentum building, Hall then spotted Brandon Fischer under the basket in transition to give Hoffman Estates a 41-32 lead with 3:18 to play.

"We lost (Fischer) in transition one time and he got a layup, and (Vesper) got 2 offensive rebounds for putbacks," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. "I thought those were 3 big baskets that were really the straw that broke the camel's back."

Dundee-Crown closed the gap with a basket by Jeff Beck (18 points) and a 3-pointer from Marcus Henry, but Vesper again gained inside rebounding position after a missed Hoffman Estates 3-pointer and put home the follow to give his team a 43-36 lead with 1:33 left.

"My role is to be an offensive rebounder and get boards," said Vesper, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. "It felt good knowing I helped the team out on a night when we turned the ball over 17 times. All of us need to improve and step up every night. We need a five-man effort."

The Hawks sank 7-of-9 free throws in the final 59 seconds to seal the win.

Dundee-Crown had its chances. The Chargers shot 17 of 49 for the game (35 percent), including 3 of 15 in the third quarter when they were held to 6 points.

"We had some good looks outside, but they just weren't falling tonight," Beck said.

Said Huber: "I didn't feel like we attacked the basket with much rigor."

Dundee-Crown will play Buffalo Grove on Friday at 5 p.m.