Elgin moves on to semifinals at Marengo

Elgin's boys basketball team had trouble putting away Rochelle, but with Desmond Douglas' 19 points leading 4 players in double figures, the Maroons finally prevailed, 66-56, at the E.C. Nichols Tournament in Marengo Monday night.

Lavion Baldwin and Reggie Cole added 16 and 14 points, respectively, and Courtese Cooper had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Maroons (8-4).

Elgin moves on to the semifinals against North Boone at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"To quote Picasso, 'It's not a masterpiece, but it will sell,' " said Elgin coach Mike Sitter.

Elgin threatened to blow out the Hubs several times, but Rochelle refused to go away. A 13-2 run put Elgin ahead 34-23 just before halftime, but Caleb Gould nailed a 3-pointer for Rochelle, then came up with a steal and rebounded his own miss to make it 34-28 at the break.

Five times in the second half, Elgin went up by double digits only to watch the Hubs come back. A 9-2 Rochelle run made it 58-52 with 2:54 left. Cooper then converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, and Baldwin and Douglas each added a free throw to make it 63-52. Kyle Seebach made 2 free throws for Rochelle, but Douglas made one foul shot and Baldwin 2 to finally give Elgin some breathing room with 45 seconds left.

Seebach led Rochelle with 17 points. Caleb Gould added 14 and Tim Monfils had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Hubs.

Elgin's defense helped keep it in the lead whenever the Hubs threatened. The Maroons shot under 40 percent from the field and were outrebounded 31-29, but the defense forced 30 turnovers, including 16 in the second half.

Elgin led 46-39 after 3 quarters. Cole opened the second half by rebounding a Rochelle miss and driving the length of the court for a layup. Then Douglas converted a steal into an easy layup and, after an offensive foul on the Hubs, Tim Wolf nailed a jumper for a 52-39 lead.