Elgin has enough to hold off Streamwood

Friday night's performance wasn't the Elgin boys basketball team's best.

But the Maroons have enough talent that they can overcome their mistakes and still be victorious, as was the case Friday. Elgin shot 37.8 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from the free-throw line, but defeated Streamwood, 52-42, in an Upstate Eight Conference River Division game at Chesbrough Field House.

"Last year when we didn't bring our 'A' game, we lost," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "This year, we can fight through some adversity and some bad performances and still get a win. It's a sign of a maturing team, but if we want play into March, this is a game we should have put away early."

The Maroons (10-4, 4-1) trailed 6-3 in the first quarter before a 12-0 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Dennis Moore and Jordan Dean, to take a 15-7 lead. Elgin's lead didn't fall below 7 points in the final three quarters, but despite building a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter, the Maroons were not able to put Streamwood away.

Elgin hit just 6 of 15 throws in the final 12 minutes and committed 9 second-half turnovers, giving the Sabres (5-13, 1-5) a chance to get back in the game.

"We played probably one of our worst games all year, but some games are going to go like that," said Dean, who finished with a game-high 16 points despite missing all 3 of his free-throw attempts.

Streamwood, which shot 10-for-31 and turned the ball over 18 times in the first three quarters, started hitting some shots in the fourth. The Sabres opened the quarter on a 13-3 run, getting 6 points from Zach Harris, 4 from Brandon Larkin and a 3-pointer from Jerrold Ofiana. The run got Streamwood with 7, 44-37, with 3 minutes remaining.

But the Maroons did enough in the final 3 minutes to hold off the Sabres.

"We made a game out of it," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "I was very proud of our effort. We never gave up. We were right in the ballgame there, and that's all you can ask for when things don't go your way right off the bat."

Harris led Streamwood with 12 points. Larkin added 11. Both came off the bench.

Elgin's Kory Brown finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, but made only 6 of 12 free throws. Moore added 9 points. The Maroons went just 10-for-22 from the free-throw line.

"I don't know why we shoot it better from 22 feet than 15. It's frustrating," Sitter said.