Strong finish leads Elk Grove to better start

Elk Grove had to dig itself out from slow starts to the last three boys basketball seasons.

But the Grenadiers ability finish strong gave them a weekend sweep and a 3-3 start to this season after they beat visiting Hoffman Estates 46-36 in Saturday night's Mid-Suburban League crossover.

"We always start off slow," Elk Grove senior guard John Lorenz said of Hoffman scoring the game's first 6 points.

But Lorenz scored 7 of his game-high 15 points in the final 2:50. The Grens scored 13 of the game's last 15 points to erase a 34-33 deficit.

"It seems coach (Anthony Furman) has to get us pumped up at halftime," said Elk Grove sophomore guard Devin Neill, who came off the bench for 9 points and 6 rebounds. "We have to know what gets us pumped up. We know we can respond."

Sophomore Austin Amann also came off the bench and had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Grenadiers also pulled a fourth-quarter comeback Friday night against Wheeling to avoid the 1-9, 2-9 and 0-10 starts the last three years.

"The last three years have been rough but we don't refer to it anymore," Furman said. "It's something to build on, how we responded the last 4½ minutes.

"We definitely attacked it. It was a growing weekend for us and we took a step forward."

Hoffman (1-4) took a 26-21 lead with 4:17 left in the third on a 3-point play by Mike Gordon. But Neill and Jeff Miceli combined to shut out Hoffman scoring leader Austin Terry (9 points) after his steal and 3-point play 31 seconds after halftime.

And Hoffman went from scoring 16 third-quarter points to four in the final eight minutes.

"We have to get everybody hitting on all cylinders," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro after his team committed 20 turnovers. "We have guys who are willing to play defense who are struggling offensively and guys who are willing to play offense are struggling to play defense."

Amann's left side drive, a short driving jumper by Neill and Lorenz's baseline drive put Elk Grove up 39-34 at 2:50. Matt Pahl (8 points) hit a short turnaround inside at 2:15 for Hoffman but a chance to get closer was picked off inside by Amann.

Lorenz had a layup off Sean Gordon's feed and driving 3-point play to seal the victory.

"We did a good job of keeping our heads up and not getting down about it," Lorenz said of Hoffman taking a fourth-quarter lead. "We responded well to it and came back with a good run."