Chatham Just Misses Triple Double As Kits Edge Vikes

Kaidan Chatham slipped into the gym just before the sophomore basketball game at Niles North Tuesday night for a quick drink of water, and a female security guard walked over to the end of the Evanston bench and gave him a big hug.

It was good to be home again and feel that kind of love.

But Chatham spoiled the good vibes for the host Vikings --- a program he played for in his first three years of high school --- by leading his new team, Evanston, to a 68-64 overtime victory in a Central Suburban League crossover game.

Chatham missed a rare triple double by just one assist in his return to those familiar confines in Skokie, piling up 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with nine assists as one of three Wildkits in double figures. Ian Peters (17 points) and Vito Rocca (16) also rose to the occasion in Evanston’s biggest triumph to date.

Evanston earned its 15th win against 3 losses by outscoring the Vikings 8-4 in the overtime period. The winners made just enough free throws --- 5 of 8 at the charity stripe --- to hang on as Chatham’s toss with 7 seconds left on the clock curled into the net and dropped through to make it a two-possession game.

That prompted a big smile by the senior guard directed at the ETHS bench and dropped Niles North to 13-4 on the season.

“It felt great. Ever since I transferred I’ve had this game circled on my calendar,” Chatham said. “Everyone has always showed me so much love here. The teachers were always great to me and so was everyone on the staff.

“There’s no animosity just because I left. Niles North has a great program and the coaches really helped me develop to this point. I just felt like Evanston was the best place to prepare me for the next level, both on and off the basketball court.

“That last free throw did look kinda funny. It hit the back of the iron and rolled in. I’m just glad I made it. I tried not to make tonight be about me and I’m thankful that my teammates had my back tonight. In my mind --- and in my heart --- this is a statement victory for us. We knew it would be a dogfight. Everybody wasn’t always on the same page in that fourth quarter, but we got enough stops on defense to get the win.”

Evanston head coach Mike Ellis was glad to have the 6-foot-3 senior guard on his side.

“I didn’t say anything to Kaidan about this game (prior to the opening tip) because I thought he’d have enough people in his ear telling him what it meant,” said Ellis. “I’m so happy for him. He’s such a great kid, a likeable kid who always puts his teammates first. He works hard every day in practice and he’s always positive and always tries to pick up his teammates.

“Tonight they picked him up and willed their way to a win.”

Chatham began his senior year by earning his way into the ETHS starting lineup and picked up all-tournament recognition at the Fenton Thanksgiving Tournament. But his play slipped after he suffered a dislocated shoulder in practice and he didn’t really regroup until he led a fourth quarter charge in last Saturday’s loss at Rolling Meadows.

“Every high school player goes through ups and downs like that,” Ellis said. “Kaidan was all-tourney at Thanksgiving, and then he hit a little bit of a valley. I’m really happy that he turned the calendar to 2025 and showed up like he did for us tonight.”

Evanston started the game strong Tuesday night but watched a double digit lead melt away in the fourth quarter. The Wildkits let Niles North back into the game by going scoreless for a five minute stretch that had more to do with unforced errors than anything the Vikings did on defense. The visitors turned the ball over five times in the period and North finally pulled into a 56-56 tie on a 3-point basket by former Evanston guard Yaris Irby (19 points) with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left in regulation play.

Evanston turned to the Rocca brothers in big moments down the stretch. Senior Theo Rocca (6 points) swished a 3-point shot from the right wing at the 2:02 mark to put the Wildkits on top 59-58, and after a steal by Jayden Rodriguez, the visitors milked the clock until sophomore Vito Rocca was fouled with 28 seconds remaining.

Rocca split a pair of free throws and North’s Mustaf Rexhepi (10 points) scored the game-tying basket on a drive to the hoop with 20 seconds to play.

Rexhepi scored both of the Viking buckets in overtime but then the Kits began their parade to the free throw line.

“We have to do a better job of reading and reacting, and staying in the present,” Ellis said. “All those empty possessions we had in the fourth quarter really gave them (North) life. The first 16 minutes of the game we played really well together, but we knew they’d come at us. They’re such a talented team.”

Reid Olson, the coach’s son, also stashed in 19 points for the Vikings but the defensive job done mostly by Chatham against him --- and by Peters against Irby --- proved just good enough.

Peters not only continued his strong defensive play, he fired in five 3-point baskets in the first half to help the Kits build a 42-28 halftime advantage. The senior guard found opportunities on offense in transition and made the most of them, then focused on defense in the second half. He shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range and triggered a fast start for an Evanston team that had fallen into the habit of easing into games, especially on the road.

“We did a really good job running in transition in the first half. But just like in the Rolling Meadows game (last Saturday) we stopped running and didn’t get those transition points,” pointed out the senior co-captain. “We played at Niles North’s pace instead of at our pace. We let them set the tone in the second half.

“I don’t know if it was a ‘statement’ win or not. It will be good for our (sectional) seeding, but it’s just one important game. We have multiple important games down the road.”

Voters in the Class 4A New Trier Sectional tournament grouping will certainly sit up and take notice of Tuesday’s outcome while trying to determine the No. 1 seed.

“I’m not really concerned about what seed we’ll get,” said Ellis. “(Friday’s opponent) Glenbrook North is also in our sectional and in our conference and we’ve already talked about closing out this week with another win. To maximize this result we got tonight, it really comes down to what we’re going to do going forward. We just have to make sure we’re ready to play every night.

“If this turns out to be our best game of the year, we won’t get to where we want to be.”