The stands were packed, with the iconic sea of black outfits ready for the notorious ETHS v New Trier game. The rivals meet for another riveting game, however this time on the Kits’ home turf.
Going into this game with increased confidence after the big win against New Trier on January 31st, the Kits are also at an advantage as a key player for New Trier, Junior Christopher Kirkpatrick, was out due to an injury.
As the first quarter started with a bang, senior Theo Rocca took the first points in an immediate layup, the Kit Pit was hyped up. The Trevians attempted to rush through the Kits defensive end which led to fouls and turnovers as their offense was sloppy with the faster pace. However, due to the Trevians’ speed, our defense had trouble keeping up.
With the referee sprinting his heart out up and down the court, the battle continued as the Kits were starting to lose their winning momentum. Elton Jaegerskog, a lead scorer in this game from New Trier, made a three pointer to tie up the game.
After an outstanding performance from the Pomkits and Cheerleaders, the crowd snapped back into the reality that the score was tied 20-20. Teeth grit together as the Kit Pit cheered on their peers leading Vito Rocca to make a perfect swish in two-out-of-two layups.
“It got close and nobody was really freaking out. We realized we were just being ourselves and they couldn’t keep up with us,” senior Kaidan Chatham remarked.
The tension was palpable—each time New Trier hit a big shot, we’d rally right back with a response. The Evanston crowd had no shortage of chants to try and will our team to the lead.
Both teams kept intercepting the ball from each other, leading in a back and forth which was eventually broken after Theo Rocca broke ankles and scored a three pointer making the crowd go wild.
After Evanston failed to score with 7 seconds left, the Trevians scored a free throw with only 0.09 seconds left on the clock for the third quarter; nevertheless, Evanston led 37-29.
Going into the fourth quarter senior Ian Peters battled in a fight for possession against New Trier, resulting in a scratch, but never halted his gameplay. Evanston makes passes around the offensive circle highlighting their patience, and catalyzing a cascade of actions for freshman Ben Ojala to score a three pointer.
Evanston continued to make good passes and was able to avoid New Trier defense, which led to Theo Rocca scoring two threes in the matter of 30 seconds with only three minutes left in the quarter.
On fire and continuing the momentum, Theo Rocca makes a layup, leading to a 16 point lead.
“Shots weren’t falling for us in the first half. A big way to help shots fall is by keeping the ball up and to have everyone touch the ball,” Theo Rocca remarked when commenting on their post-half time comeback.
Towards the end of the game, ETHS brought out senior Emmitt Sehgal to make an electric three–pointer to make the crowd go crazy in a moment they had been waiting for.
The final scoreboard displays 54-35 as the Evanston boys basketball team leaves the court grinning. With another win against New Trier under their belt, the team has every player to thank, highlighting Theo Rocca with fifteen total points scored in this game. Close behind, Chatham and senior George Rich tied for second place with eleven points scored each.
“We had a very balanced scoring team, three guys in the double figures, Theo, George, and Kaiden are all seniors that may or may not play a New Trier v Evanston game again. Ben Ojala also stepped up and hit some shots and we needed them,” Ellis explained after the successful win.
Now with an overall record of 24-4 the Kits launch into a top five ranking in the state and look to their last conference game on the road against Maine South on Friday.
“We need to take the things that we need to do a better job of and make a place for them in practice, and make sure we come tomorrow as hungry as ever,” Ellis said on their plan for the rest of the season.
