Last season, Maine South ended the ETHS season in the regional playoffs by stunning the Kits 49-32. Almost a year after that heartbreaking loss, the Wildkits came into Friday’s home game against the Hawks with a chip on their shoulder. They showed no mercy in getting their revenge, winning 58-36.
“We lost last season because we did not think they could beat us. We gave them a lot more respect this time around, and made sure to get off to a fast start,¨ said Head Coach Mike Ellis.
The Kits played with aggression and physicality that Maine South was unable to match in the opening frame. With seconds left in the first quarter, Senior Guard Theo Rocca had the ball and, with a defender in his face, hit an incredible step-back three leading to Beardsley Gym erupting as the buzzer went off.
At the beginning of the second quarter, things started to look like they did in last year’s regional loss. Maine South was looking better on both sides of the ball and Evanston was starting to look sloppy. But, things turned around when Junior Guard Timi Ogunsanya drove into the paint before whipping the ball around to Sophomore Dion Lane Jr, who sunk a three with pressure in his face to sway the momentum back to Evanston. From that, more of the same was seen from Evanston as they head into the half with a comfortable 34-18 lead.
The Kits maintained their dominance in the first half coming out of the break. They continued to bring an aggressive energy to their defense; although the Kits had a 16-point lead, they were fighting each and every play. As the final seconds of the quarter winded down, Ian Peters drove up the court and lobbed up a deep buzzer-beating three to get the crowd roaring again. The shot bore a resemblance to a full-court shot his brother Blake Peters hit to beat Maine South in 2018.
The Kits went into the fourth quarter with a 49-28 point lead, prompting Ellis to bring in his backups. Junior Monte Dillard Jr. then hit a spinning dunk with a minute and a half left in the game. Dillard Jr.’s dunk sparked the loudest cheer of the night in Beardsley Gym.
Offensively, the Kits were streaky throughout the contest.
Sophomore Vito Rocca had another great performance, leading the team with 16 points while shooting 87% from the field. But, the real story of the game was the relentless Wildkits defense. Nine steals throughout the contest for the Kits made things really hard for the Hawks on the offensive side of the ball.
We had 38 deflections, so we were very active around the basketball,” said Ellis. “Of all the things we’ve talked about and prepared for, I thought our defense ignited our offense tonight, and that was the big difference. “
