Despite not starting a game last season, senior Antoine Thomas played like a seasoned veteran on Saturday afternoon.
Thomas led the way for Evanston with 19 points and 6 rebounds while making 11 of his 15 free throw attempts to boost the Kits to a 64-55 win over La Lumiere (IN). With the win, Evanston advanced to 5-1 on the season, while the Lakers dropped to 5-2.
“Antoine was tremendous for us today,” head coach Mike Ellis said. He had no turnovers, four offensive rebounds,and got multiple putbacks on the glass. He did a great job trying to create extra plays for us.”
From the get-go, the Lakers put on an aggressive full-court press against the Kits, keeping up with Evanston thanks to that pressure. However, junior Theo Rocca set the Evanston offense into motion. He drained two threes and contributed ten points in the first quarter alone to give Evanston a 16-14 lead going into the second.
“[Rocca] took the press off. They didn’t want Theo to get loose on the back end of their pressure,” Ellis stated. “Making those threes put [La Lumiere] in a state of panic.”
The Kits began pushing the pace and moving the ball well in transition in the second quarter. Senior Morgan Brown hit two threes, and senior Brandon Watson found ways to create his own shot, chipping in six points in the paint. Thomas ended the half with a layup to put Evanston up, 31-27.
Both teams started with high intensity in the third quarter. La Lumiere’s Preston Malpuss hammered home a dunk on the first possession of the half, but Evanston responded with a strong defensive effort that forced three Laker turnovers.
Later in the quarter, Thomas came alive. He pounded the glass, brought down multiple offensive rebounds and continually got to the free-throw line. La Lumiere had no answer for the senior, who dropped eight points in the third. The Kits ended up outrebounding the Lakers, 31-20.
“I wanted to get every rebound that came off the rim,” Thomas said. “[Those rebounds] affected the game, because they gave the team the second chance shots we needed.”
The Kits shot 22/46 (48 percent) from the field and were able to put La Lumiere away in the fourth quarter with ease. After nearly choking away the lead in the fourth quarter on Friday night against Deerfield, Ellis was pleased with the closing job late in the game.
“[Closing] has been one of the things we’ve struggled with lately this season too many times,” Ellis said. “We played a lot better in the second half today. So that was good to see.”
In addition to Thomas’ 19 points, Watson capped off the day with 17 and Rocca finished with 12. Brown ended with nine points off the bench.
The Kits will look to keep it rolling against Bulls College Prep on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m.
