Lakes handles Round Lake

Lakes coach Chris Snyder felt that his leading scorer Jay-Jay Elvir had been struggling lately and needed a boost.

Elvir received that boost and rewarded his coach by coming off the bench to score a season-high 19 points to lead the Eagles 60-41 win over Round Lake in the fifth-place game of he Grant Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

“We started someone else in his spot today and he responded well,” Snyder said. “He needed to do what he had to do so that he could regain his time back on the court. He had lost his confidence, so today was a big game for him. He got into a nice rhythm and did some nice things out there.”

Lakes (4-9, 2-2 tournament) held a 29-28 lead at halftime and kept extending the advantage in the second half.

Elvir started the third quarter with a layup to start a 10-2 run.

“I just felt that the shot got me going and I was able to finish well,” Elvir said. “We were just trying to contain their offense.”

Lakes’ Tanner Blain finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

“Defensively, we came out in the second half and that was the key,” Snyder said. “That triggered our offense. We started to hit some shots and get some open looks, but defense was the key.”

Round Lake had defeated Johnsburg 65-49 on Tuesday and was hoping that the momentum would carry over.

Juddon Carter, who scored 37 points Tuesday, hit a 3-pointer with 2:21 left in the first half to put the Panthers up 26-25. But a free throw pulled Lakes even and then the Eagles’ Justin Bergeron sank a 3.

“After the last play of the first half, we just weren’t there mentally or physically,” said Round Lake coach Jim Roberts, whose Panthers fell to 4-9 and finished 1-3 in the tournament. “We held a one-point lead late in the second quarter, but then we didn’t defend the basket, which allowed them to take the lead going into the half.”

Carter (four 3-pointers) and Daniel Uriostegui (two 3s) led the Panthers with 14 points apiece.

“We didn’t come together in the second half,” Carter said. “We just crumbled, both mentally and physically.”