Hot-shooting Waubonsie downs S. Elgin
Waubonsie Valley boys basketball coach Steve Weemer wondered how his team would rebound Thursday night from Tuesday’s 2-point loss to Neuqua Valley.
He couldn’t be happier.
The Warriors shot 69 percent and broke open a close game with a 12-0 second-quarter run to beat host South Elgin, 59-44, in Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division play.
“I thought they responded fantastic,” Weemer said. “It’s kind of a true test of our character as a team. At this time of year, you’re just not sure (how they would respond).”
Waubonsie (14-6, 6-2) scored on its first four possessions to take an 8-2 lead. The Storm (9-9, 2-5) answered with an 8-0 run, but trailed 13-12 after the first quarter.
Jacob Maestranzi’s basket 15 seconds into the second quarter gave South Elgin a 14-13 lead. Jared Brownridge’s 3-point play sparked the decisive 12-0 run. Brandon Malby had a pair of baskets, Brownridge nailed a 3-pointer and Demitrius Gray had a bucket in the paint during the run, which gave the Warriors a 25-14 lead.
A Brownridge 3-pointer from the left corner with a second left gave the Warriors a 30-19 lead. Waubonsie shot 13-for-20 (65 percent) in the half.
“I was feeling it,” said Brownridge, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including hitting all 3 of his 3-point attempts. “It’s not going to happen every day and I know that. I started driving and it opened up my outside shots.”
The Warriors used an 11-2 run in the third quarter to increase their lead to 17, 41-24. South Elgin, which was playing its first game in 15 days, cut the deficit to 8, 48-40, on a 3-pointer from Maestranzi with 3:33 remaining in the game. Waubonsie got three layups and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 3 minutes, while South Elgin only got two baskets form Willy Gagic in that time.
“It comes down to defense and if we can’t stop anybody, it’s going to be hard to win the rest of our games,” Storm coach Chaz Taft said. “Tonight (was) not a very good defensive effort.”
Bryan Jefferson added 11 points for the Warriors, who went 22-for-32 in the game. Malby finished with 8 points and Dylan Warden had 7.
“We shared the basketball really well,” Weemer said. “We talk about let’s take good opportunities and have better opportunities. We had some good looks. We haven’t been shooting the ball very well. We shot the ball better tonight.”
Maestranzi led the Storm with 16 points, 8 in the fourth quarter. Gagic and Darius Wells each had 9. Matthew Downing added 7 points and 5 rebounds.