Cole reaches 1,000 in Streamwood's win

Streamwood went ahead early and stayed there Thursday. The Sabres downed visiting Glenbard East, 70-60, in both teams' Upstate Eight opener.

Late in the game, Streamwood senior Keenon Cole made 2 free throws to go over the 1,000 point mark for his career.

"When I first came into high school, knowing about 1,000 points, I thought it would be pretty hard," Cole said. "I just wanted to be next. I've been a part of this system since I was a kid. It's had a big impact on my basketball career. That means a lot to me, working hard, just playing varsity for 2 years and these last 5 games. It's just been a great accomplishment for me."

Cole scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as Streamwood (2-3, 1-0) held off repeated charges by the Rams. He added 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

Nikola Sinik also scored 24 points, hitting 8 of 11 from 3-point range. He grabbed 8 rebounds.

Kozyae Wright added 9 points and Zach Marquez 8 for the Sabres.

Streamwood never trailed and the game was tied for only the first 11 seconds before Sinik nailed his first 3-pointer. But the Sabres never led by more than the final 10-point margin. Every time the Sabres seemed on the verge of blowing the game open, the Rams came back.

Streamwood led 57-50 after Sinik's final 3-pointer of the night, but back-to-back baskets by Daron Hall got Glenbard within 57-53.

An odd 3-point play gave Streamwood some breathing room. Zach Marquez made a layup and got fouled, but cramped up and had to leave the game. Jeremy Lunz came in and made the free throw to make it 60-54, but Hall answered with a 3 at the other end.

"We just made enough plays," said Streamwood coach Kent Payne. "We had guys making shots. Nikola (Sinik) started out real hot and they did a real good job guarding Keenon initially. We said at halftime that they weren't going to let him beat them. We put him in a different position because every time he brought the ball up the floor they doubled him. So we tried to move him around a little bit and he did a great job."

Alijah Nelson led Glenbard East with 15 points. Hall scored 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter to help keep it close. Deon Cook had 9 points off the bench, all in the first half, for Glenbard East (1-4, 0-1).

But the combination of Sinik outside and Cole inside forced the Rams to make some tough choices about who to guard.

"He (Sinik) did a great job shooting the basketball tonight," said Glenbard coach Scott Miller. "You've got to pick your poison a little bit."