South Elgin holds on to down Elk Grove
A late fourth-quarter rally by the Elk Grove Grenadiers boys basketball team would not be enough to get past a solid performance by the South Elgin Storm.
The Storm (3-1) defeated the Grenadiers 46-42 in the final game of the 26th annual Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament at Fenton High School Saturday. The Storm led by as many as 12 points early in the game but the Grenadiers (1-3) would not quit, coming back from an 8-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get within 1 of the Storm thanks to a 3-pointer by senior guard Anthony Jimenez and some key free-throws by junior center Brian Kelly.
“(Elk Grove) plays hard,” said Storm head coach Chaz Taft. “I told our guys that it’s always going to be close because they play hard on every possession. You’re always going to have your work cut out for you on every shot because they’ll be right in your face.”
The rally for Elk Grove would stop there, as senior guard Devonte Everett would make 2 free throws and junior guard Jacob Maestranzi would do the same and the Storm would then hold on to get the 4-point victory. Everett didn’t feel any pressure at the free-throw line, even knowing that his team was only up by 1.
“I just wanted to take my time and hit the free throws like we do in practice,” Everett said. “We practice that kind of stuff all the time. I just took a deep breath and took the free-throw.”
Everett finished the evening with 7 points for the Storm, while Maestranzi led the team with 12 and was a perfect 4-for-4 on his free-throws. For Elk Grove, junior guard Austin Amann led the team with 16 points, including two 3-pointers.
The Storm held the Grenadiers to just 1 point in the first quarter, and Elk Grove head coach Anthony Furman knew that the lack of offense to start was what hurt his team the most.
“We definitely believe we can win, but we have to have that mentality from the get-go,” said Furman. “I think we were just testing the waters a little bit (in the first quarter). We saw some really good things, but it’s got to be a full game.”
With the win, South Elgin took second place overall in the tournament, behind the first place Fremd Vikings. Everett is happy to have his team off to a great start this season.
“It’s good for us moving forward as a team,” he said of the Storm’s Thanksgiving tournament success. “It’s a great way to start the season.”