Kits Clinch CSL South Title With Record 3-Point Barrage

The noise from voices outside of Evanston’s basketball program doesn’t usually penetrate Beardsley Gymnasium’s walls.

Especially at 5:30 in the morning --- when shooters are made.

The Wildkits showed any remaining skeptics about their place in the Central Suburban League South division race what they’re made of in 2025-26 and earned a repeat title Tuesday night with a new starting --- and starring --- cast.

Evanston shot down Glenbrook North 88-45 behind a single game school record barrage of 19 3-point baskets and nailed down the title with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

And they did it with only one starter returning from last year’s squad while improving to 21-4 overall.

Tuesday’s slaughter rule victory in Northbrook against a GBN team that is tied for second place with New Trier in the conference standings put an emphatic stamp on another title for the Kits, their 10th since head coach Mike Ellis took over the program in 2010.

Ellis brought championship expectations with him when he arrived from Peoria even though Evanston competes in one of the toughest basketball conferences in the state of Illinois. And this year’s team rose to the occasion even though junior Vito Rocca was the only one who played a significant role for last year’s champs.

This one belongs to a new cast, including seniors Timi Ogunsanya and Elliot Pratt, who warmed the bench last year.

“It really feels good to win it, because at the start of the season people were picking us to be fourth or fifth, even with nine players back from that state run,” said Ogunsanya, who was one of four ETHS players in double figures Tuesday with 14 points and 6 assists. “It was disrespectful to us as players, and to our program. So we put in the work, and we finished on top.”

“This is my last year of (organized) basketball because I don’t plan to play in college, so it really feels good to win this championship,” said Pratt, who contributed 9 points Tuesday while starting again in place of the injured Rocca. “People in public disrespected us. I heard a lot about the other teams, but I never worried about a lack of players here. No one making those predictions understands the amount of work that goes on here. It goes under the radar, and that’s why they counted us out.

“There’s such a strong bond on this team. We have 7 or 8 guys who are in the gym almost every morning since the summer putting up shots, and that’s why everyone on this team is a weapon. Every one is capable of knocking down shots because of all the work we do.”

Tuesday’s victory marked the 17th in a row in CSL play for the Kits dating back to last year’s opening game at Deerfield. Now 8-0, the Kits wrap up the division campaign with a home game Friday versus Maine South and a trip to New Trier on February 15th.

“As a coach, you never know what’s going to happen when you have so many new faces,” Ellis pointed out. “When they heard that others had predicted us to be in the bottom half of the conference, they just kept their heads down and kept working to see what happened. And they won the conference with two weeks left.

“Part of what happens with our shooting (the Wildkits shot a sizzling 19-of-29 from 3-point range, or 65 percent) is wanting to make the right play because it leads to taking the right shot. And no one else sees these guys at 5:30 every morning putting up shots. They feed off each other, and they trust their teammates to find them when they’re open. That trust with this group is really at an elite level.”

GBN’s bewildered defenders couldn’t keep up as seven different ETHS players scored 3-pointers in the running clock win. Triples by reserves Miles Ross and Aiden Payne in the final two minutes helped the winners break the single game school record of 17 set by the 2018 and 2022 teams, and matched by the current squad this year against Rolling Meadows.

The heat check Tuesday night started with junior Tate Schroeder, who shook off a case of strep throat to sink his first three 3-point attempts on his way to 15 points in the first half. Dion Lane Jr. added a game-high 20 points and a career-high 7 assists, while Tristen Wilcox tallied 13 points off the bench and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

Evanston broke out to a 24-11 lead after the first quarter, then pushed the advantage to 49-29 by halftime. Lane’s 9 points in the third period boosted the lead to 70-38 to put the running clock into effect.

Evanston’s season stats prior to the title-clinching game showed Schroeder at 51 percent, Ogunsanya and Ojala at 45 percent, and Lane at 44 percent from long distance.

So who’s the best 3-pointer shooter on the squad?

“I think it’s really Tate. I’d say I’m probably second, and Ben Ojala is last,” Ogunsanya kidded. “We started working on our shooting in the summer and we still do it every day. I’m a way better shooter than I was last year because of all that work.”

“Timi’s done a great job for us this year,” praised Ellis. “He lost (playing) minutes to Tate last year (when Schroeder was promoted from the sophomore team) and I believe that really motivated him. I’m so pleased with the way he’s playing his senior year. He’s a quiet kid, and he doesn’t say much, but he’s leading us with his play.”