Elgin evens crosstown series with 48-43 win
Different personnel, different result.
Elgin evened the city series against crosstown rival Larkin with the help of two starters who missed the first meeting on Dec. 5.
Steve Edwards scored 9 of his 10 points in the first quarter to stake the Maroons to the early lead, and Marcus Redburg scored 9 of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to lift Elgin to a 48-43 victory in the consolation bracket of the 34th Annual Pepsi/Daily Herald Elgin Boys Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon.
Elgin (4-6) will play Downers Grove North (5-5) for the consolation championship today at 3:15 p.m. Larkin (5-7) will play Rolling Meadows (5-5) at noon.
Edwards and Redburg were among four Elgin players who missed the Dec. 5 game due to suspensions. Larkin won that game 66-60 despite 35 points from Elgin guard Tom Roth.
Roth struggled Friday with 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting, but he was picked up by Edwards and Redburg, a pair of 6-foot-5 seniors who combined for 15 rebounds to help the Maroons win the rebounding battle 30-26.
"Me and Steve didn't play last time, so we just wanted to show them what would have happened last time if we had been playing," Redburg said. "We just came out like we had something to prove. And we did it."
Redburg was a difference maker in the fourth quarter. After Larkin tied the game at 30 with 7:42 to play on Anthony Barracks' long jumper, Redburg went on a personal 7-0 run. He scored on an inside layup, notched a three-point play, and scored after an offensive rebound to give Elgin a 37-30 lead with 6:35 remaining.
However, the Royals ran off 7 straight points - 2 free throws by Ryan Smith, a Terell John baseline jumper and a three-point play by Jeff Saurbaugh - to tie the game at 37 with 4:25 to play.
Redburg answered with a two-step move along the baseline that freed him for a reverse layup. After a timeout, Elgin's Aleks Kanlic drilled a 14-foot jumpshot to give Elgin a 4-point lead with 3:20 left.
The Royals pulled within 45-43 on Ryan Smith's 3-pointer from the corner with 57 ticks showing on the clock, but Kanlic scored on a tip in at the other end with 44 seconds left, and Larkin turned the ball over on its next possession. Mike Richards split 2 free throws with 16.6 seconds left for the final margin.
"We got closer and closer, but we couldn't get that run at the end," said Saurbaugh, who led the Royals with 12 points.
Larkin shot 15 of 42 for the game (35.7 percent), 1 of 10 from 3-point range.
"They shut off our threes this time. That had a lot to do with it," Larkin coach Larry Hight said. "We have to learn not be a one-dimensional team. I think we're showing we can get the ball inside. We just have to finish a little better."
The rivals will play for a third time on Feb. 3 at Elgin's Chesbrough Field House.