Scott, Elgin stop Geneva, earn share of UEC River title
The Elgin boys basketball team won twice Tuesday night.
The Maroons rode a dominating defense and the hot shooting of Cortez Scott to defeat Geneva, 43-30, in Upstate Eight Conference River Division action at Chesbrough Field House.
After the game, Elgin won a coin toss to decide which team, Elgin or St. Charles North, would represent the River division in the UEC crossover first-place game against Valley division winner Metea Valley.
"The last several games we have put goals up on the wall. Our only goal tonight was win conference," said Maroons coach Mike Sitter, whose team shares the conference title with St. Charles North. "They went out and did that from the opening tip."
Elgin (22-3) and St. Charles North each went 9-3 in conference play. The Maroons will host Metea Valley at 7:15 p.m. Friday. The North Stars will host Waubonsie Valley on Thursday. Geneva, which could have created a three-way tie for second in the River Division with a victory, fell to fourth and hosts Neuqua Valley on Thursday.
Scott got the Maroons going in the first quarter. The senior scored 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting as Elgin took a 15-10 lead. Scott went 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.
"Coach told me to shoot with confidence. That's what I did," Scott said. "I took the open shots and they went in."
The rest of the game was all about Elgin's defense.
Geneva (13-12, 7-5) hit only one field goal and scored 4 points in the second quarter. The Vikings were held scoreless in the final 5:06 of the first half and trailed 22-14 at the break. Geneva's Connor Chapman scored on the opening possession of the third quarter, but the Vikings did not score again in the third quarter.
From the beginning of the second quarter until 2:40 remained in the fourth quarter Geneva went 2-for-21 from the floor.
"We really struggled to get the ball in good scoring areas," Vikings coach Phil Ralston said. "They had great pressure on us. They covered our shooters on the perimeter. For us, the ball movement was a little slow."
Scott led all scorers with 18 points. Arie Williams added 8 points and Dennis Moore had 7. Kory Brown scored only 4 points, but added 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Brown now has 1,189 career points, 12 behind Marcus Smallwood for fifth on the Maroons' all-time scoring list.
Chapman scored 12 points, 8 in the first quarter, to lead the Vikings. Brandon Leahy had 4 points.