Boys basketball goes wire to wire in big win at New Trier
On Friday night, Evanston packed into New Trier’s arena for a game that lived up to the hype. The Wildkits (18-4) and Trevians (18-6) faced off in a rivalry showdown with big playoff implications on the line.
New Trier’s last lead of the game came at 4-3, and from there, Evanston took control, never looking back.
In a sold-out New Trier stadium, the atmosphere lived up to the hype. The Kitpit came out and gave the Kits great energy all night long.
“It’s huge,” said senior Theo Rocca. “To see everyone come out here and support us, that means a lot.”
The game was a battle for all 32 minutes, but Evanston managed to hold off New Trier and pull away at the end, securing a 62-52 victory over their rivals.
New Trier’s junior star Chris Kirkpatrick opened the scoring, but Evanston quickly answered back with a deep three from senior George Richardson which set him up for a monster game. Later in the quarter, a pair of corner threes from Richardson and Rocca pushed Evanston’s lead to 21-7 with just over a minute left in the first. New Trier’s Max Vogel hit a three for New Trier at the buzzer, but Evanston went into the second with a 23-12 advantage.
The first quarter was all Evanston, as they played with a level of aggression the Trevians couldn’t match. The Kits trapped New Trier on defense, holding Kirkpatrick to just four points, while shooting an impressive 70% from the field.
“They’ve got some really good three-point shooting and some big-time scorers with Kirkpatrick, Colby Smith, and Houlihan … So we knew that we couldn’t lose those guys,” said Evanston Head Coach Mike Ellis.
Chatham opened the second quarter by tipping a New Trier pass and gliding past defenders for an easy score. Freshman Ben Ojala followed with a wide-open three, extending Evanston’s lead to 30-14. New Trier found their rhythm soon after, though, with Kirkpatrick driving and Vogel hitting a three to cut the Kits’ lead to 32-24. A late bucket from Ojala gave Evanston a 35-26 lead at halftime. New Trier ended the half on a 12-5 run, fueled by Evanston’s dip in efficiency.
“We had a great first half. We play a game in four-minute intervals and we won the first three but lost the last one, so we just couldn’t let up [in the second half],” said Richardson.
The second half started much like the first half ended, with New Trier coming out hot. Colby Smith hit a fadeaway to open the scoring, and Kirkpatrick and Vogel continued to get into the lane for easy buckets, narrowing the gap to 35-32.
Ellis was forced to call a timeout early in the quarter to regroup.
“We just stopped focusing on the defense; I think that’s when we slip up. It’s when we’re worried about what happened the last play, or worried about the next shot or the next time on offense … I just felt like we were down on defense,” voiced Ellis.
After the timeout, the Kits regained some of their earlier momentum. Sophomore Vito Rocca grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, and a minute later, Ian Peters hit a corner three to push Evanston’s lead to 43-34. The game slowed down after that, with neither team finding much offensive flow late in the quarter. Evanston went into the final frame with a 47-39 lead.
Vito Rocca found his brother Theo for a key three-pointer to open the final frame which got Ellis hyped up on the sideline. Vogel responded with a three for the Trevians, cutting the lead to 50-44 with five minutes to go. From there, Evanston began using the IHSA’s no-shot clock rule to their advantage, holding the ball for long periods each time down the court. New Trier was forced to foul, and Evanston made their free throws to seal the win, sending the KitPit into a frenzy.
“I’ve never been able to play in a big rivalry and it was a really awesome opportunity, to feel the stadium pulse and all the fans,” remarked Richardson, a transfer to Evanston this year. “I love this team and I love winning with them.”
Richardson finished the night on 8/9 shooting, scoring 21 points. The big also hit both threes he took (including Evanston’s first points of the night). Richardson also collected four rebounds and played solid defense inside for the Kits all night long.
It was certainly an impressive win for Evanston and should give fans a sense that this team has the potential to make a deep postseason run.
For now, the Wildkits are on top of the CSL, but their rivalry with the Trevians isn’t over yet. The two teams will meet again on February 11th at Beardsley for the rematch.
