No letdown for Elgin in rout of Niles North

Jeremy Granger

Even though he didn't want to, Elgin boys basketball coach Mike Sitter referred to Saturday's game against Niles North as a "hangover" game.

The Maroons were coming off of a 62-61 emotion-filled victory at South Elgin on Friday night and Sitter knew Niles North would not draw the same sort of crowd or intensity.

Good thing for Elgin, the Vikings took the same approach.

Elgin limited Niles North to just 10 first-half point and cruised to a 52-35 nonconference victory at Chesbrough Field House.

"With last night's emotional game with the huge crowd, I told the kids (Saturday) was going to be ugly," Sitter said. "We have to keep our composure."

Jeremy Granger certainly did.

The Elgin senior led all scorers with 23 points. Granger (10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists) single-handedly outscored the Vikings (5-11) in the first half finishing with 12 points.

"We came out with a lot of intensity," said Granger, who went 8-for-16 from the floor. "We knew we had to come out and play hard. We were happy with the defensive effort in the first half."

Elgin (9-7) held the Vikings to 23.8 percent (5 of 21) from the floor in the first half and held a 26-10 lead.

Even when the Vikings cut Elgin's lead to 30-21 with 4:36 left in the third quarter, Granger had an answer.

Granger nailed a pair of free throws, grabbed a steal and ran the length of the court for a layup and then hit a jumper to put the Maroons ahead 36-21.

"(Sitter) told me to play aggressive, be a playmaker," Granger said.

The victory marks the third-straight for the Maroons, who have won 2 of those without leading scorer Armani Williams. Williams, who was recognized before the game for breaking Sean Harrington's career 3-point field goal record at Elgin on December 28, missed his second game with a swollen knee. Forward Kenny Williams was at Eastern Illinois University on a football recruiting trip.

"We knew exactly what they had," Niles North coach Bill Pistorius said. "Even with the Williamses out, we knew exactly what they had. We were just not mentally ready to play."

The short-handed Maroons had no lack of playmakers, though. Limited all season, Joe Wade made the most of his first real opportunity to play quality minutes Saturday night.

Wade finished with 8 rebounds, 5 of which came on the offensive glass. Wade's hard-nosed defense also helped the Maroons to a 37-18 advantage on the boards.

Gustavo Herrera added 7 points in the first half and point guard Tom Roth chipped in 7 boards.

"Joe Wade was absolutely huge," Sitter said. "He played three good quarters. He's a hustle kid."