Fleming’s on fire, but Elgin outlasts Stevenson
Elgin boys basketball coach Mike Sitter, standing after a thrilling victory Tuesday night, shook his head.
He was in awe.
“That Fleming played out of his mind,” he said of Stevenson senior guard Michael Fleming. “We had a hand in his face all night; he did not get one open look.”
But Fleming, a 6-footer, poured in a game-high 27 points (4 treys) in a 67-65 overtime loss in a Bison Thanksgiving Classic game at Buffalo Grove.
“We had two guys, all over him, and he still hit a pull-up 3 on us,” Sitter added.
Sitter’s Maroons (2-0), though, pulled out the victory behind senior guard Dennis Moore’s clutch free-throw shooting in the extra session. Moore (16 points) made all 8 of his freebies in OT and tallied 10 of Elgin’s 14 points after regulation.
“Those free throws were key,” Sitter said. “Dennis is accustomed to tough situations ... in football, in basketball. He has ice in his veins.”
Elgin, which trailed 32-29 at the half, opened the second half on fire, tallying 13 straight points to take a 42-32 lead. Maroons senior guard Cortez Scott (21 points) nailed 2 of his 4 treys in the stretch.
But Stevenson (1-1) refused to wilt. The Patriots struck for a 6-0 run and later tightened up matters on junior guard Danny Nowak’s buzzer-beating 3.
Elgin led 45-41 after three quarters.
“Third quarter, we came out flat,” said Pats coach Pat Ambrose. “You know what, though? We didn’t give up against a very good, sectional-type team.
“We have to execute better than we did. We have to get better in that area; we will. We had some young guys on the floor.”
One youngster, 5-11 freshman guard Jalen Brunson (12 points), played with the poise, and savvy, of a senior at times. Classmate Connor Cashaw and sophomore guard Matt Morrissey also saw time Tuesday night.
Stevenson held Elgin to 8 points in the fourth quarter. Elgin had appeared to seize control midway through the period, with 6-3 center Gerardo Mojica collecting a steal on consecutive possessions and turning the second theft into a bucket.
Elgin owned a 53-47 advantage, with 4:20 left in regulation, but did not score again until OT.
Fleming and Pats junior guard Andy Stempel each netted a 3 in the final 4:04 of regulation.
Moore’ show — aka OT on Tuesday night — began with a pair of free throws 10 seconds after the OT tip. His putback put the Maroons up 57-55, before Brown’s steal-and-basket increased the gap to 4 points.
Elgin’s final 8 points in OT came from the free-throw line — 6 by Moore.
Fleming’s final 3-pointer of the night, with four hands in his face, pared the lead to 66-65 with seven ticks remaining.
Scott’s free throw, at 0.9, capped the thriller.
“That was fun,” said Sitter. “That was the most fun I had in a long time. Stevenson, believe me, is going to win a lot of games this year.
“I liked our intestinal fortitude after a couple of our starters (Brown and Arie Williams) fouled out (in OT). I learned something tonight: That I can count on players, a lot of players, to make big plays.”
Williams scored 12 of his 13 points from 3-point land; Brown also contributed 5 rebounds and 4 steals; Elgin guard Devin Gilliam came down with a team-high 6 boards.
Stevenson senior forward Colby Cashaw finished with 10 points (8-9 FTs) and 8 rebounds.