Boys Basketball: Elmwood Park cruises past Guerin

A much-anticipated neighborhood battle turned into a one-sided affair as Elmwood Park came into River Grove and defeated Guerin 77-44 on Monday night. Four Tigers scored in double figures on the night led by senior guard Julian Molina’s 17. Fellow senior guard Alec Gomez hit three key three-pointers en route to scoring 16 points while senior guard Anthony Santiago netted 11 and junior Elliott Perez scored 10.

“Our defense was very, very aggressive and created a lot of turnovers,” said Elmwood Park head coach Mike Wasielewski. “We knocked down our shots better than we had been, but it was our defense that won this game.”

Elmwood Park (11-9) scored 15 straight points in the first quarter to open up a 12-point lead. Molina had 10 points in the opening stanza to help the Tigers. They held a 15-point lead at the half and pulled away in the third quarter with a 17-0 run. Santiago and Gomez each hit big threes when the Gators had a chance to bring the deficit to single digits.

“It’s just confidence, and you’ve got to have it,” Gomez said. “I’ve always been calm because we simulate that stuff in practice so it’s not as much pressure. It’s something as a point guard that I’m going to have to get used to.”

Guerin (4-16) opened the game with a three-pointer from sophomore Gavin Byrne before Elmwood Park’s big run. Byrne finished the contest with eight points while junior Ricky Santiago led the team with 10 points. Free throws haunted the Gators as they went 7-of-19 from the charity stripe compared to Elmwood Park’s 17-of-25 performance at the line.

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