Elgin nails down regional win over Streamwood

Streamwood boys basketball coach Tim Jones said the referees did a "great job" on Monday night.

That's a surprising comment considering the Sabres were whistled for 29 personal fouls and two technicals to send Elgin to the free-throw line 51 times.

The Maroons hit 38 of those attempts, 75 percent, as Elgin ended Streamwood's season with a 62-43 victory in the play-in game of the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional in Carpentersville.

"We lost our heads," Jones said. "I was not upset whatsoever with the officials."

No. 5 seed Elgin (11-16) advances to play top seed Dundee-Crown at 7:30 p.m. today and avenged a 60-51 loss to the Sabres last Friday.

The Maroons shot 27 percent from the field, hitting only 11 of 41 shots, but more than made up for it at the free-throw line. They went 12 for 20 from line in the first half to go into halftime down by just 1, 24-23. In the second half, Elgin went 26 for 31, including 15 of 16 in the fourth quarter.

Elgin senior Tom Roth hit 18 of 20 free throws, including making 12 in a row over the final 11 minutes, to lead the Maroons with 23 points.

The Maroons were in the bonus with 2:38 left in the third quarter and in the double bonus the entire fourth quarter. They led by one, 36-35, heading into the final 8 minutes.

"We knocked down some free throws. That helped," Roth said.

Streamwood went to the foul line only 16 times, hitting 9, as Elgin was called for 15 fouls. The fourth-seeded Sabres (13-14) struggled against Elgin's zone after the first quarter when they led 18-14.

The Sabres lost their cool late in the game, being called for two technicals in the final 1:38.

"I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for our program and for our school," Jones said. "I wasn't very happy with that. That's not how we should act."

Marcus Redburg finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Maroons. Aleks Kanlic added 8 points. Joe Wade and Steve Edwards each grabbed 9 rebounds.

"That's the best job we've done executing our game plan," Maroons coach Mike Sitter said. "We wanted Marcus to touch the ball every possession. He got a lot of touches and got some players in foul trouble."

Tem Esikiel led the Sabres with 17 points, all in the first three quarters, and 8 rebounds. Marcus Lewis added 9 points.