Disruptive South Elgin frustrates Naperville C.

Heading into the season, the South Elgin boys basketball team knew its defense would contribute heavily to the amount of success it would have.

The Storm set a tone for its defense right away Monday night, constantly pressuring Naperville Central en route to a 59-48 victory in the Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament at Fenton.

South Elgin (1-0) never let an early 11-3 deficit disturb it, instead answering with a 13-3 run of its own to capture a 16-14 lead after one quarter.

"I told them, 'When you're coming into this thing, expect airballs, expect turnovers, expect you to try to do things you normally wouldn't do in practice, because the pressure's on," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said.

The Storm made its big statement in the second quarter, forcing eight Naperville Central (0-1) turnovers while limiting the Redhawks to just 7 points. Another decisive run gave South Elgin a 30-21 halftime advantage, as the defending tournament champions closed the half by outscoring Naperville Central 11-2.

"We're a defensive-oriented team, and we're trying to make sure we're shutting down passing lanes and everything like that," Taft said.

Storm senior guard Tommy Childs disrupted passing lanes all night, grabbing a handful of steals which directly led to his team-high 25 points.

"We had sort of a slow start, so I had to pick these guys up on the bench," Childs said. "I felt it was up to me to get that run started, so I got the steals and it went from there."

"They did a great job of just taking us out of the way we wanted to play. Instead of us answering back in the direction we wanted to, we played their game," Redhawks coach Pete Kramer said. "We're a better team than we showed."

Senior Matt Neufeld's 3-point play cut the South Elgin lead to 50-46 late in the fourth quarter, but the Redhawks could inch no closer than 4 points.

"They hit some big shots down the stretch after we made a run," Kramer said. "We just couldn't get over the hump."

One of two returning starters in the Naperville Central lineup, the 6-foot-6 Neufeld, led all scorers with 27 points, including 10 of his team's 12 in the third quarter.

"The full-court pressure just really got to us," Neufeld said. "We need to figure out a way to break that."