Evanston’s defense was so good Friday night that the Wildkits didn’t allow Prospect’s basketball team the chance to loosen their belts and get comfortable one day after stuffing themselves with turkey.
The Wildkits moved within one win of their third straight tournament championship at the Saint Viator Thanksgiving Classic by stifling Prospect 54-34. The defending champs didn’t allow the Knights to score a single field goal in the fourth quarter, held them scoreless for the final 6 minutes and 3 seconds, and limited the losers to 27 percent shooting (13-of-48) overall.
The Wildkits conclude play in the round-robin tourney against host St. Viator at 3 p.m. Saturday. Every other team in the tourney already has at least one loss.
Now 3-0 to open the season, Evanston shot 50 percent from the field but didn’t place a single player in double figures. While the offense grabbed the spotlight in a second round romp over Streamwood, piling up 95 points, it was the defensive effort that delivered on Friday.
Prospect’s methodical style of play forced ETHS to play defense for long stretches on most possessions — and most of the time, the winners came up with a stop, either a forced shot or a 3-point bomb that had no chance.
Evanston head coach Mike Ellis was most pleased that the Kits never allowed the Knights to find a comfort zone — and didn’t settle into one despite the fact that they led at every quarter stop, by margins of 12-8, 29-16 and 41-31.
“We didn’t want to play with fire against a very good Prospect team,” explained Ellis. “They have a lot of good shooters, they play hard, they don’t beat themselves. And they’re well-coached on top of that. I think they all did a good job of recollecting what happened in the game against Libertyville, and not getting comfortable out there with a lead.
“I think our size was a factor early on and we showed the ability to score around the basket. And Isaiah Moore gave us a spark when he hit a big 3 for us, and I think maybe that shot dejected them a little bit.”
Moore, a 6-foot-4 senior who rarely got off the bench last spring, contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds Friday. His 3-point shot from the left side helped the Kits avoid any more nervous moments after Prospect had closed to within 41-32 on an Owen Schneider free throw with 7:17 left in the contest.
The Knights never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way following Moore’s trey.
“When it comes to our shot selection, everyone’s shots count in our (practice) shooting drills, so Isaiah wasn’t in a foreign situation or anything having to hit one under pressure,” said Ellis. “He’s used to it. They all are.
“Trust is a huge word for such an inexperienced team and we trusted him with that shot because he’s made it before. That’s all we’re looking for. Can we trust you to execute our stuff, can we trust that we’ll get your best effort, can we trust that you’ll put your teammates in front of yourself? Can we trust you to be a good student in the classroom? This is a team that needs to build through unity and trust.”
Moore was part of a balanced effort on offense as the ETHS coaching staff continued to search for the best chemistry among current squad members. Jack Tully led the Wildkits with 9 points, David Gieser added 8 points, and Prince Adams netted 8 points to go with 4 blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Prospect’s Alex Georgakas (14 points) and Schneider (12) combined for almost all of the loser’s points.