Elk Grove tops Wheeling

Elk Grove is learning to win.

Or so the Grenadiers boys basketball team hopes. They opened their Mid-Suburban East season Friday night at Wheeling, against a Wildcat squad eager to learn the same.

The Grenadiers would “ace” the exam though, 51-46, despite an “A” for effort from the host Wildcats.

It wasn't easy, and it even looked for a while like it might go overtime. Elk Grove (2-4, 1-0) sixth man Austin Amann made sure it didn't though.

With the teams trading impressive runs which enabled two major swings in the lead down the stretch, Amann stepped up and hit a 3 to break a 42-42 tie and added 4 more free throws in the final 15 seconds en route to a game-high 15 points.

After Wheeling had erased 30-23 deficit in the third quarter after Amann scored off a steal, it was Amann and John Lorenz (12 points) who got Elk Grove back on track. In fact, Lorenz's jumper with 4:36 left in the game ended an Elk Grove field goal drought that last more than six minutes.

“We had to keep our composure” said Amann. “We said to keep our composure when [Wheeling] went on their run,” a 15-1 run that turned the 7-point lead into a 7-point disadvantage for Elk Grove.

Tyler Shapiro's quickness, Billy Jamie's and Charlie Kirk's toughness around the basket and 6-foot-5 Ricky Schwind's length at the top of the zone defense enabled the Cats (2-3, 0-1) to force turnovers, get buckets in transition and, as head coach John Clancy noted, “We said we were going to use the [3-2] zone to wear them down,” and it worked.

Nick Boyd came off the bench to give the Cats the same lift Amann gave the Grens. But it was Elk Grove's defense, in the end, that wore down Wheeling.

“We executed defensively down the stretch,” said Grenadiers coach Anthony Furman. Sean and Matt Gordon helped force some of Wheeling's 11 second-half turnovers and keep the Grenadiers under control with only 12 turnovers for the game, by contrast.

The Cats shot just 14-of-44 for the game and 1-of-10 from the 3-point line. They only got 7 shots in the fourth quarter thanks to Elk Grove's turnover-forcing defense. And the Grens hit their free throws, including 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter.

“We feel better,” about ourselves, said Amann, whose club is playing with a chip on its shoulder, trying to prove to preseason prognosticators they are better than they were forecast to finish, which was near the bottom of the East Division. “We're going to prove people wrong.”

Starting with Wheeling.