Kits Crash The Boards And Crush Niles West

Evanston’s basketball team is on a record pace this season when it comes to 3-point shooting.

The downside to that? Players can be lulled into a false sense of security, thinking every shot will go in and not approaching the game with the mindset to rebound with intensity.

Reminded of that fact in practices leading up to Tuesday’s Central Suburban League crossover game at Niles West, the Wildkits responded by crashing the boards and crushing the Wolves 82-36 in a slaughter rule victory.

Guards Timi Ogunsanya (9 rebounds) and Dion Lane (5) especially took that part of the game to heart as both players recorded career-highs, leading ETHS to an overall 34-15 advantage. Evanston rebounded as a group from last Saturday’s blowout loss to Warren and improved to 23-5 entering a rivalry rematch with New Trier Friday in Winnetka.

Lane notched a game-high 23 points in less than three quarters of action, including a rare 4-point play to end the first quarter. Joining him in double figures were teammates Tate Schroeder (13), Vito Rocca (11 points, 6 rebounds), and Ogunsanya (10).

The winners opened up a 38-22 halftime lead and amped up their intensity even more in the third quarter, putting the Wolves away with a 15-0 run in the third period.

Niles West dropped to 8-18 on the year as two players, Devin MacApinlac and Asani Dixon, combined for 29 of their total 36 points. The Wolves, who are coached by former ETHS star Garrett Jones, shot just 13-of-42 (31 percent) on their home court so there were plenty of rebounds to go around.

“Rebounding was definitely a point of emphasis in practice this week,” said Evanston head coach Mike Ellis. “It’s a credit to our guys to understand the lessons they’ve learned and to carry them over from practice into a game. Rebounding is a 50-50 opportunity for both teams. It’s a matter of anticipation and it’s a matter of will. Everybody on the floor has to rebound, especially on the defensive end.”

In an era about 40 years ago in high school basketball, size mattered most and every team’s “bigs” were responsible for rebounding duties. Since the introduction of the 3-point shot, however, the game has changed. Missed 3-point shots typically bounce farther away from the basket and chasing them down is just as much the responsibility of the guards as anyone else.

Still, with five players averaging in double figures and a team 3-point shooting percentage over 40 percent, the temptation sometimes for the Wildkits is to get caught just watching those long-range attempts.

“With the 3-point shot, any time you give another team a second chance it usually results in a kick-out 3 for someone that’s wide open,” Ellis added. “The 3-point shot has definitely influenced rebounding on the defensive end.

“We get into trouble when we’re drinking the Kool-Ade (believing no 3-pointer will miss) because it affects us at both ends of the floor. You have to be committed to the idea that every shot is a miss, and it’s difficult to do with such great shooters like we have this year. That 3-ball is Kool-Ade we need NOT drink. We have to get stops on defense (with rebounds), and a good offensive rebounder always assumes that every shot will be missed.”

Ellis didn’t mention ball-watching as an issue when it comes to 4-point shooting, however. Lane joined teammate Ojala, who did it earlier this season, in that rare category with a 4-point play to close out the first quarter.

Evanston was nursing a 16-11 lead and got the last possession under its own basket with 3.8 seconds left on the clock. The inbound pass went to Lane, who dashed into the frontcourt and tossed in a runner from the right side just as time expired.

He was fouled by West’s Jakob Lopatkiewicz on the play, got up and make the free throw for a 20-11 ETHS edge. The Kits never looked back after that, outscoring the hosts 26-8 in the third quarter when they forced five turnovers.

“To me, the biggest stat tonight was the fact that we had (only) 5 deflections (on defense) in the first half,” Ellis explained. “In the second half we had 25. We really came out with a sense of purpose in the second half.”