Moore's layup gives Elgin win over St. Charles East
Elgin sophomore Dennis Moore found enough room to drive the lane and put up a shot.
The ball hit the backboard, then the rim, went into the air and fell through the net with about 1.5 seconds remaining Monday night.
St. Charles East was unable to call a timeout and Moore was mobbed by his teammates as the Maroons celebrated a 45-43 victory in the play-in game of the Class 4A Bartlett regional.
"I took the handoff and they doubled me. I turned around and I saw (the extra defender) left," Moore said. "I knew everybody was on the other side so I assumed the lane was open. I just went down it."
No 5 seed Elgin (7-20) broke a five-game losing streak and advances to play top seed South Elgin at 7:30 p.m. today in a regional semifinal. The fourth-seeded Saints (12-15) lost their fifth straight, seeing their season come to an end.
Neither team played its best basketball as they combined for 39 points in the first half with STC East leading 23-16. The teams combined to score 38 in the third quarter.
Elgin, which shot 1-for-12 from behind the 3-point arc in the first half, opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 28-25 lead. Moore and Kory Brown each scored 7 points in the quarter as the Maroons shot 8-for-12. Zack Burns had 7 points and Kendall Stephans added 6 in the quarter as the Saints took a 40-37 lead into the fourth.
But East would score just 3 points, a 3-pointer from Drew Vazquez with 6:32 left, in the fourth. The Saints went 1-for-4 with four turnovers.
"You can't win a game scoring three points," Saints coach Brian Clodi said. "Obviously that's not how you want to end your season, giving up a layup."
The Maroons didn't fare much better offensively, but what they got was enough. Brown tied the game at 43-43 with a bucket with 2:16 remaining.
The Saints turned the ball over with 1:10 left and didn't get the ball again. Elgin called a timeout with 55.4 left and held the ball until about 10 seconds remaining. Moore passed to Tim Newcombe, who handed the ball back to Moore. Moore drove and scored for the win.
"Dennis is strong going to the basket, able to finish around the rim very well," Brown said.
"We didn't have that set in the huddle, but it's one that we've run all year long," Maroons coach Mike Sitter said. "Dennis Moore showed a lot of patience."
Brown led the Maroons with 16 points. Moore finished with 14 points. Tim Newcombe grabbed 9 rebounds, including 6 offensive.
Stephans' 16 points led East. Vazquez had 11 and Burns added 10.