Boys Basketball: Revenge-minded Elgin set for big weekend

Updated: January 19, 2012 7:24PM

Elgin has only two losses in its past 19 games dating to last season, and it can avenge both defeats in the next two days.

What the Maroons hope will be a weekend filled with retribution begins Friday night when they host Geneva in a meeting of the two teams tied atop the Upstate Eight River standings. Elgin (15-1, 5-1) suffered its only loss of the 2011-12 campaign at the hands of the Vikings (9-7, 3-1) in a 66-64, triple-overtime affair on Dec. 2.

The scene shifts Saturday to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates when the Maroons square off with Huntley (15-1) at 4:30 p.m. in the first of three games that make up the 15th annual National Guard High School Hoops Showdown. The Red Raiders were responsible for ending Elgin’s season with a 57-46 victory in the Jacobs Sectional semifinals last March.

“All of us have the idea of revenge in our minds for both teams,” Elgin senior Kory Brown said. “The last time we played Geneva it was a real tough game that went to triple overtime, and the last time we played Huntley it was a sectional loss. So we’re going to come at both these teams with all we’ve got and not leave anything on the floor.”

The highly anticipated clash between Elgin and Huntley features a pair of red-hot teams ranked Nos. 20 and 21, respectively, in the Sun-Times Super 25. The Maroons have won 11 in a row going into Friday’s game while the Red Raiders, who are idle Friday, have won 10 straight since a mid-December loss against Fremd.

Despite all the recent success, Elgin does have some concerns with senior guard Dennis Moore likely out until at least mid-February with a broken right hand.

The three-year varsity starter hasn’t been much of an offensive threat this season after injuring his left hand during football season, but his tenacious defense and floor leadership will be missed. Moore suffered his most recent injury to his shooting hand last week against Larkin, and it will be at least two weeks until he has his cast removed.

“It’s a big weekend for us, but we haven’t been playing our basketball of the year the last couple weeks, and now with Dennis out we’re a little undermanned,” Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. “We’re going to need somebody to step up and have a good weekend because if things don’t go well we could very well go 0-2.”

The Maroons still boast plenty of firepower, starting with the 6-foot-4 Brown, who averages 15.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Junior guard Arie Williams (13.7 points per game) and senior guard Cortez Scott (9.4 points per game) are also primary offensive threats for Elgin.

The centerpiece of Huntley’s attack is 6-6 sophomore Amanze Egekeze, who has made major strides in his second varsity season and averages a team-best 13.3 points. Senior sharpshooter Troy Miller adds 11.4 points per game to his team’s balanced attack, which like Elgin’s lineup includes many of the same players who were on the court for last season’s sectional showdown.

While there is a contrast between the patient offensive approach employed by the Raiders and the up-tempo style preferred by the Maroons, both teams base their success on lock-down defenses. Elgin is holding teams to 41.6 points per game this season, and Huntley has held five straight opponents under 40 points and is yielding only 40.8 points per outing.

“Our goal on defense is to try to make you take tough, contested shots, and (Elgin’s) goal is to pressure the ball and take it away from you and not even let you shoot,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “It’s a little bit of a different defensive philosophy, but I think defense being the focus is the same in both programs.”

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