Elgin 73, Waubonsie Valley 58
Armani Williams
Elgin's boys basketball team earned the signature victory it had been seeking all season with a 73-58 win over previously unbeaten Upstate Eight Conference leader Waubonsie Valley at Elgin's Chesbrough Field House Friday night.
Elgin guard Armani Williams sank six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points, guard Jeremy Granger added 17 points and 6-foot-4 junior forward Marcus Redburg gave the Maroons a strong presence in the post with 16 points off the bench, 10 of which he notched in the fourth quarter to keep the Warriors from staging a comeback.
"We all came together, we played hard, we played like a team," Williams said. "All five of us wanted to play. We played for each other."
The win was the ninth in 11 games in 2008 for Elgin, which improved to 15-9, 6-3.
The loss dropped Waubonsie Valley (20-5, 8-1) into a tie with Neuqua Valley (20-7, 8-1) with one league game remaining for each team.
Neuqua plays its conference finale next Friday at Larkin (1-22, 0-9). Waubonsie plays at St. Charles East (12-12, 5-4).
Elgin's 73 points were the most surrendered by the Warriors this season. The Maroons' energetic man-to-man defense helped force 18 Waubonsie Valley turnovers, miscues that fueled the Elgin transition game. Elgin shot 26 of 51 from the field (51 percent) as a result.
"We came out super flat," Warriors senior Kevin VandenBerg said. "I don't want to make excuses. There are no good excuses. They outplayed us."
Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer warned his players all week of the threat Elgin posed to no avail.
"It's kind of like when their parents tell them, 'I told you so,' " Weemer explained. "I told these guys all week that Elgin was a very dangerous team, they can score in bunches and we've got a target on our backs so they're going to come after us.
"We were flatter than a pancake. They played well. They deserve a lot of credit. I mean, Armani was unbelievable tonight and Granger played well tonight. Our guys were flat, we didn't respond to the challenge."
Senior guard Justin Peaster led Waubonsie Valley with 16 points while senior Josh Daniels scored 14.
Elgin grabbed a 29-26 at halftime when Granger sidestepped VandenBerg to sink a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Williams took over in the third quarter, hitting three straight 3-point attempts on his way to a 15-point period and a 53-47 Elgin lead heading to the final eight minutes.
Redburg was a difference-maker in the fourth, when he scored 4 baskets in the paint and sank 2 free throw attempts.
"This feels real good," Redburg said. "It's been kind of a disappointing season, so it feels good to come out and knock off one of the better teams in the conference."
Elgin coach Mike Sitter, who mainly stressed defense all week in practice, was encouraged by the result.
"Usually we back down from opponents that are bigger and tougher and scrappier than we are, and tonight we didn't," Sitter said. "Tonight we pushed back. If we do that, we'll play some games in March this year."