When Evanston first played at Deerfield back in December, it was not the outcome the Wildkits had hoped for. The Kits struggled offensively and received their first and only conference loss at the hands of the Warriors. However, Evanston got a chance for revenge on Friday night, and with Beardsley Gym packed with teachers for the staff showout, the Kits improved greatly from their first matchup with the Warriors and left with a massive 60-34 victory.
“It was really awesome to play such a good game in front of our teachers. They and the student section gave us some really great support tonight,” said senior guard Kaidan Chatham.
Chatham set the tone early in the game as he sank a three-pointer to open the scoring. The Kits’ defense settled in right from the start as they held the Warriors to just six points in the opening frame. The quarter ended in the same fashion it began: with a Chatham bucket. This time it was a slam dunk that sent both the student and teacher sections into a frenzy, putting the Kits up 15-6.
“I just let the game come to me, and I mean, the shots are falling, so I just kept going,” stated Chatham.
The Warriors improved to start the second quarter, and an open three-pointer by senior Sam Hanus cut the Kits’ lead to 19-15 halfway through the quarter, forcing Coach Ellis to call a timeout. The Kits came out of the timeout on fire as senior George Richardson hit four straight buckets, sending the Kits to the locker room with a 15-point lead.
The Kits continued to dominate in the second half as they kept up their stingy defense, with freshman Ben Ojala and sophomore Vito Rocca growing into the game. Chatham maintained his good work on both sides of the ball and finished as the Kits’ leading scorer with fifteen points.
“Kaidan played so well at both ends of the floor. It wasn’t just his points; it was his impact defensively. The one dunk he had was because of his defense. His defense was his offense; I thought that was the case all night long,” remarked Head Coach Mike Ellis.
Senior guard Theo Rocca also had a good night, finishing with 14 points on 5/12 shooting. Richardson rounded up the Kits’ double-digit scorers with 11.
Also, freshman Ben Ojala put on an impressive performance last night with 9 points on three triples. The freshman made smart decisions all night and buried the threes when he found himself open on the wing. Ellis was also impressed with the freshman’s defense throughout the contest.
“Ben’s covering guys that are their second and third leading scorers. He did a great job. He’s learning a ton. He is going to be huge for us down the stretch,” said Ellis.
The Kits played with that gritty and physical style of defense that allowed them to dominate rebounds, winning the rebounding battle 29-22. The Kits also used their physicality to set the tone on defense, frequently trapping the Warriors and forcing thirteen turnovers compared to Evanston’s six. This consistent aggression never let the Deerfield offense get into a prolonged rhythm.
“I thought we did a much better job of moving bodies, being harder to guard than our first game. I’m glad our guys learned a lot that first time out,” said Head Coach Mike Ellis.
The Kits were much more efficient offensively this time out against Deerfield. They shot 47% from the field and 38.7% from three last night, sinking a total of 12 threes.
The Kits have two pivotal games coming up, the first of which is a tough matchup today against a 19th-ranked Metamora, followed by a huge rivalry game against New Trier on January 31st.
“They’ve got a guy going to Bradley that is almost unstoppable… so we’ve got our hands full. This is going to be a really good test for us,” said Ellis on Metamora.
