South Elgin stops Barrington

You don’t need to have the tallest players to make the biggest plays.

South Elgin gave away several inches at almost every position Saturday night at Barrington. But playing “taller” than their listed heights and over and above their .500 record coming in, the Storm registered something of an upset with its 63-53 win in the nonconference game.

The shortest of the Storm, Jacob Maestranzi, their 5-foot-7 point guard, continued his steady play that helped beat Metea Valley the previous evening. He hit all 8 of fourth-quarter free throws, directed the offense efficiently and made the most of his few open looks to score 15 points.

His play was infectious as South Elgin (10-9) was totally unselfish in its ball movement, generating high-percentage looks (23-of-41 from the floor) while everyone shared the ball, as well as the boards.

“We had to ‘gang’ rebound tonight,” against the taller Broncos, said Storm coach Chaz Taft.

South Elgin got off to a fast start, building a 16-7 lead and wearing down the Broncos, who used a lot of energy to rally and tie the score before the Storm pulled away using quickness and uncanny shooting.

Their best eye belonged to Sammy Sutter, the 6-2 junior forward who had a game-high 21 on an assortment of whirling-dervish moves that have sort of become his signature.

“I take what they give me,” he said modestly.

His teammates helped with that. Maestranzi and Dillon Gardner (11 points) kept finding the ever-in-motion Sutter, who exemplified South Elgin’s patience by hitting 9 of 13 shots.

“This summer,” said Sutter, “I worked hard on getting to the rim.”

Barrington (15-7) never really went away, though. Greg Gerrard (11 points) kept getting to the free throw line and Tyler Weathered started shooting to his all-Mid-Suburban credentials in the second half. Off the bench, Mark Bennett (12 points) sparked Barrington back into a halftime tie with perimeter shooting.

But that was just it. Barrington was getting little inside and hitting little outside (5-for-20 on 3-pointers). Even playing both his centers together — starter John Schneider (9 points) and sixth man Luke Osmundsen — couldn’t rally the Broncos. They struggling with their shooting as the scrambling Storm defense neutralized their height advantage.

South Elgin sealed it by hitting 5 of 6 from the floor and 10 of 10 at the free throw line in the final quarter. Maestranzi had 11 of the team’s 22 points in the period.

“The sky’s the limit,” for his sophomore point guard, said Taft.

“He’s the best,” Sutter said of Maestranzi. “He runs the offense. He runs the defense.”

And he runs rings around guys a lot bigger.