Big spurt lifts Maroons

Elgin coach Mike Sitter preaches the importance of the first few minutes of each quarter.

Downers Grove North saw just how important the first three minutes of the second quarter were against the Maroons.

Elgin forced 5 turnovers and scored 7 points to take a 22-8 lead while not allowing the Trojans to get a shot off. The Maroons used the run to spark a 48-36 victory in the consolation championship of the 34th Annual Elgin Holiday Tournament. The win was Elgin's first consolation championship since 2001.

"We put them away early," Elgin center Marcus Redburg said. "Then we kept shutting them down. Our defense played good."

Redburg outscored Downers Grove North (6-5) 12-9 in the second quarter. The senior was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second quarter and finished with a game-high 20 points. He also jacked a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Maroons (5-6) into the third quarter with some added momentum.

"Usually we back down from physical play," Sitter said. "It was nice to see them step up. I think this is the best we've pressured the ball. We really got the ball down low."

Elgin built a 31-17 halftime lead, which forced the Trojans to look to the outside for more scoring. The outside was not much help. Downers Grove North shot just 25 percent (13 of 52) from the floor, topped off with a 0-for-19 effort from beyond the 3-point line. Downers Grove North made 3 of 16 from the floor in the final period.

"They did a great job of getting us into a game we didn't want to play," Trojans coach Jim Thomas said. "They did things we weren't able to counter."

Elgin shot 11 of 19 from the floor in the first half, with Redburg the main x-factor, going 4 of 4. The senior went 6 of 8 from the floor and scored all 20 of his points in the first three periods as Elgin built a 41-26 advantage going into the fourth. He also hauled in 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Tom Roth added 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the victory.

Kameron Norton led the Trojans with 8 points.