Elgin runs past Burlington Central
Burlington Central's boys basketball team normally sets the pace in the open court against a schedule of Class 3A competition, but the Rockets were handed a heavy dose of their own medicine Tuesday, courtesy of Class 4A Elgin.
The Maroons turned missed Central shots and turnovers into fast-break points in the blink of an eye, a transition game highlighted by a pair of alley-oop slam dunks finished by senior Kory Brown in a 73-41 nonconference victory at Chesbrough Field House.
"We love going up and down," said Brown, who had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. "It's just the way we've always been."
"If we get stops on defense, we run and get shots and keep on going," said senior guard Dennis Moore, who had 12 points and 4 assists.
Tactics that often succeed against lesser teams on Central's schedule fell flat against ultra-quick Elgin (7-1), which set a pace the Rockets couldn't match. Brown, trailing on a fast break in the first quarter, made it 6-0 when junior guard Arie Williams lofted a soft pass over a defender's head for Brown's first two-handed slam of the contest.
The game was already at blowout status by the time Moore left an oop for a trailing Brown with 1:05 left in the third quarter. That dunk brought the crowd to its feet and elongated Elgin's lead to 62-22.
Williams and Moore, who have played with Brown since childhood, say they can sense where the 6-foot-6 point forward is in the open floor.
"We know where he's going to go," said Williams, who finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds. "We throw it up now and he just goes and gets it."
"This year he's got a lot more rise to his game," Moore said of Brown. "We always try to find where he is, give and go."
Burlington Central (4-4), outplayed at its own game, struggled to score. Senior Ray Hunnicutt led the Rockets with 13 points, but Central was held to 9 points in the first quarter, 7 points in the second and 6 points in the third. They trailed by 41 after three quarters, 63-22, when Elgin coach Mike Sitter removed his starters.
"Against our 3A schedule we're the fast team that can run, and that helps us win basketball games," Central coach Brett Porto said. "It's a very tough transition for us seven games into the year to be the slower team and to value the basketball enough to not let them get out running. We're still trying to work and get where I see us winning more basketball games, and that's by playing our certain way. That's tough to do against a team like (Elgin)."
It was a thorough victory for Elgin, which won its third straight. The Maroons won the rebounding battle 37-21 and they shot 26 of 50 from the field, including a 10-of-16 performance from 3-point range. Elgin sank all 4 attempts from 3-point range in the second quarter, which fueled an 18-3 run to close the first half.
"They kind of buckled down after 3 passes to keep us from penetrating, and we were able to get open shots," said Elgin guard Cortez Scott, who drained four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 14 points.
"I thought we made the extra pass," Sitter said. "Very few of those threes did anyone have a hand in their face. That was kind of nice. Our players are very unselfish. Arie, from 23 feet, can shoot anytime he touches it. But he makes the extra pass and the other players feed off that and they make the extra pass."
Elgin resumes play in the Upstate Eight River when the Maroons host St. Charles East Friday at 7:30 p.m. Burlington Central will host St. Edward Saturday at 6 p.m.