Elgin picks up first win

Elgin was looking for a spark Friday night at the Bison Classic in Buffalo Grove.

Coach Mike Sitter found the igniter in sophomore guard David Moore.

Moore, getting his first start of the young season, scored 17 points to go with 4 steals and 3 assists in the Maroons' 56-43 win over Holy Trinity from Chicago.

The win gave Elgin its first win of the year after 2 losses. The Maroons will take on winless UC Woodlawn at 6 p.m. tonight.

"He brings energy to the game, which is why I decided to start him tonight," said Sitter of Moore. "If he gets you on his hip he's gone to the basket. He shows up early and stays late for practice. There are no negatives with David, and he's an excellent student."

Elgin had some early-game struggles with the Tigers (1-3) and trailed 11-10 after the first quarter.

A layup by Brandon Baymon (9 points, 5 rebounds) followed by a Moore steal and score helped an 8-0 Elgin that resulted in an 18-11 lead.

Holy Trinity fought back to get as close as 24-22 with 1:20 left in the half before a 7-0 spurt by Elgin to finish the half.

Moore then connected on a pair of free throws and followed that with a 3-pointer for a commanding 36-22 lead with 6:49 left in the third quarter and the Tigers would get no closer than 8.

"I like to drive and slash to the basket," said Moore. "If I can drive and the defense picks up on me, I can then dish off inside to the other players. The offense feeds off the defense when we get some steals and stops."

Kory Brown backed up Moore with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Newcombe added 9 points for Elgin.

"It wasn't a masterpiece game," said Sitter, "but we'll take the sale. We're still young and we don't have a starter back from last year. But we played better in the second half running our offense and we're playing better defense."