South Elgin can't come back against Prairie Ridge
South Elgin's boys basketball team has now experienced both sides of 26-point first quarters in its first two games of Jacobs' Hinkle Holiday Classic.
In Monday morning's opener to the second round of pool play, the Storm were on the receiving end of the onslaught against Prairie Ridge. But the Storm recovered to take a lead early in the second half.
South Elgin's recovery did not last, however, as Prairie Ridge responded for a 67-64 victory in Algonquin.
"The morning is tough for everybody to get themselves going," said South Elgin coach Jim Cook, whose team used a 26-point outburst to beat Huntley 77-58 on Saturday. "In the second quarter we started to pick up a little more energy but in the third quarter we didn't have the same level of energy. And basketball is a game of runs."
South Elgin (5-5, 1-1 Pool IV) scored 7 straight points to get within 60-59 on a driving 3-point play by senior Quintin McClundon (15 points, 11 rebounds) with 2:34 left. Two missed free throws gave the Storm a chance to regain the lead but it lost possession when Prairie Ridge (9-2, 1-1 Pool IV) guard Cory Lamb forced a held ball at 2:10.
South Elgin did get within a point twice and had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer after taking a timeout with 11.4 seconds left. But a bad inbound pass at midcourt ended any hopes of forcing overtime.
"We played together for the most part but execution is what it's all about," Cook said. "We didn't execute well."
The Wolves did in the first seven minutes as Payton Otto (17 points) and Christopher Bradshaw (15 points) combined for 16 points en route to a 26-11 lead. They hit 11 of their first 13 shots from the field and 4 of 5 behind the 3-point line.
South Elgin finally got its offense going against Prairie Ridge's zone and took a 37-35 lead at halftime on a 3 by Matthew Smith. A layup by 6-foot-9 Tyler Hankins (16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, 3 blocks) made it 39-35.
But Hankins was the only offense for the Storm in the third quarter with 8 points as the Wolves took the lead for good on a 3 by Otto late in third. They finished 10-for-18 behind the arc as Otto and Bradshaw each hit three apiece and shot 50 percent from the field (22-for-44).
South Elgin committed 10 of its 16 turnovers and was just 8-for-14 at the free-throw line in the second half.
"If we just moved the ball a little better we would have been more successful," Cook said. "We got stagnant. They are better than they played."
South Elgin finishes pool play against unbeaten Rockford Boylan at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.