Elgin bides its time, then beats St. Charles North

Elgin players might like you to think they were so pumped up for their Saturday night Upstate Eight River Division contest at St. Charles North that they arrived at their own gym at 11 a.m. to prepare with a shoot-around.

Truth be told, there was a mixup on some schedules, making Elgin coaches and players believe the game at North was at 2:30 p.m.

“We got up early to get to the gym, and when we found out the game was really at 6 p.m., we were all just sitting there laughing and shooting shots from three-quarter-court and having fun,” Elgin forward Kory Brown said.

Brown and his teammates didn’t need those three-quarter-court shots in the game. They settled for critical fastbreak hoops and open jump shots off a weaving offense to overcome a slow start and notch a 53-41 victory over a frustrated North Stars squad.

Cortez Scott led the Maroons with a game-high16 points, while Brown put in a solid night’s work with 13 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 5 assists. Guard Arie Williams added 12 points, with 7 of those coming in the fourth quarter when Elgin (1-1, 6-1) was holding off St. Charles North’s final gasps.

Both teams started the game as if they thought it was a 2:30 p.m. start, as St. Charles North (1-2, 2-6) opened an 8-7 lead after a first quarter in which Elgin had 8 turnovers, and the North Stars had 9 turnovers and missed 8 shots.

“That was the ugliest start to a game we have had all season,” Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. “We get so hyped up when we come out of the lockerroom, we just play faster than we should.

“But once we got it slowed down and a little more under control, we were fine.”

The Maroons edged to a 22-19 halftime lead and made their move to extend the lead late in the third quarter with Brown and Scott leading the way.

Brown powered in a basket in the low post for a 32-25 lead and moments later grabbed a defensive rebound, drove the length of the court and hit a streaking Scott for a layup to complete a sizzling fastbreak.

“If Kory gets the rebound, he goes, and he always says if he gets the rebound, just take off,” Scott said. “And that’s what I did.”

When Brown drove the lane in the waning seconds of the third quarter, the North Stars collapsed inside to protect the basket, and Brown hit a wide-open Matt Andres for a 3-pointer at the buzzer and a 39-28 lead.

“They might key in on me, but I have faith in every one of my teammates that they can help me out in some way and knock it down,” Brown said. “The play at the end of the third quarter was a good example.”

North Stars 6-8 center Kyle Nelson, who tallied a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds, tipped in a missed shot with 1:33 left to trim the Elgin lead to 47-41. But after Kyle Swanson missed a 3-pointer for North, Scott scored on another dazzling fastbreak to put away the game.

Quinten Payne scored 9 points, but pulled down 10 rebounds, while notching 2 steals and 4 assists for St. Charles North. But no other North Star scored more than 6 points.

“We have to take what we are doing in practice and bring it to the game,” Nelson said, obviously frustrated with his team’s slow start to the season. “We have the skills, but that can only take us so far.

“We have the players and a great coach, and we have to start listening and focus more.”

St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin echoed his senior center’s feelings.

“The lack of discipline and lack of organization on the offensive end was the difference for us,” Poulin said. “We were not moving the ball, not forcing them to play defense for extended periods of time.”

The fact that St. Charles North scored only 3 points at the free-throw line, and had only 4 attempts the entire game, proved Poulin’s point that the offense was not on the attack.

Poulin felt his team’s defensive effort was the best of the season, especially early in holding Elgin to 7 first-quarter points.

“The kids play hard, so it’s on me, I need to do a better job of instilling that discipline we need, and they need to do a better job of focusing on what our plan is for a game,” he added.

For Sitter, his team showed signs of why it is viewed as an odds-on favorite to finish at or the near the top of the River Division this year.

“We used our athleticism and got to the rim,” Sitter said. “We settled for too many jump shots early, but it was good to see us getting to the rim in the second half.”