Kits Get Last Stop In Shootout Victory

Theo Rocca has delivered more often than not at the free throw line this year, leading Evanston’s basketball team with a 75 percent success rate.

But when Rocca misfired twice in the closing seconds of Saturday’s War On The Shore shootout event held at New Trier High School, it was up to the defense to deliver for the Wildkits.

Senior guard Brandon Watson poked the ball loose at mid-court and Rocca scored a game-clinching layup as Evanston turned back Saint Patrick by a 49-45 margin for its 17th victory of the season.

The winners limited the Shamrocks to just 16 points in the second half, a remarkable turnaround after St. Pat --- and especially guards A.J. Thomas and E.J. Breland --- seemed to get whatever shot they wanted at the basket in the first half.

Thomas finished with a game-high 21 points and Breland netted 12 for St. Patrick, now 15-7 on the season. But guarded closely by Watson, Breland was held scoreless in the second half and the losers mustered only six field goals in the last 16 minutes.

Evanston outscored the Shamrocks 10-3 in the final quarter, limiting them to just one basket and one free throw. That set the stage for the last-second heroics by Watson, whose 3-point basket --- his only score in the game --- with 5:10 remaining provided Evanston’s first lead of the second half.

Jonny Dickson’s 3-point shot from the left side --- HIS only basket of the contest --- pushed ETHS ahead 47-45 with 1:43 remaining on the regulation clock. The two teams exchanged turnovers and missed shots, leading to Rocca’s chance to nail down the win at the free throw line with 8 seconds to play.

The junior standout, who finished with 13 points, couldn’t connect on either try. But when Breland attempted to push the ball up the floor for the Shamrocks for a potential game-tying or game-winning shot, Watson turned out to be Brandon on the spot.

“Theo is a great free throw shooter, but we weren’t going to let ourselves get down just because he missed,” said Watson. “We knew we still needed just one stop. He was coming at me and I just got my hand on the ball. Those are two of the toughest guards we’ve played against in awhile, and they were hard to guard.

“But Breland is more of a shooter and he couldn’t really handle the pressure well when I got up on him in the second half. In the second half we did a better job of staying in front of them.”

Watson’s clutch 3-point shot turned into a dagger earlier in the period.

“I hadn’t really shot it well and I think there were about 12 seconds left (on the shot clock). Once Ian (teammate Ian Peters) drove and then kicked it back out to me, I knew I had to shoot it,” said the senior guard. “I wasn’t scared to shoot the ball (in that situation). And I felt like it switched the momentum to our side when I made it.”

“It’s hard to score against that 1-3-1 zone they played the entire game. We don’t see a lot of that defense and with their athleticism and their quickness, they’re very comfortable playing it,” noted Evanston head coach Mike Ellis. “But I thought our guys did a great job of leaning on our defense to close this one out.

“Our guys played right to the finish of each possession, and that was important for us. When there wasn’t an avenue for us to make a play, we found another one. We played extremely well in the present and just got on to the next play when things didn’t work out. There were some hard covers (on defense) for us to have to make and we were able to do it with great footwork, without reaching and without fouling.

“It may not have looked spectacular --- but it was good enough for us to win.”

St. Patrick, which knocked off Loyola Academy in overtime the previous night, shot just 1-for-7 from the floor in the fourth quarter and every one of those shots was contested. The Shamrocks finished at 17-of-40, or 42 percent, for the game.

Morgan Brown rallied ETHS with 12 points in the third quarter, after the Kits trailed 29-21 at halftime, and finished with 14. He and Rocca combined for 18 rebounds --- and those are just the ones that counted on the stat sheet.

Ellis credited Brown, a 6-foot-5 senior, with more than just the 8 caroms he officially grabbed.

“At least three times late in the game Morgan had a great check-out (screening) to keep their 6-7 guy (Nevaeh Hawkins) off the boards,” the coach praised. “That’s what stands out to me about Morgan’s play. His 3s were huge, to get us rolling in the third quarter, but the numbers won’t tell you how valuable he was in this one.

“Their guards got downhill on almost every possession in the first half, but we survived it. We didn’t give them any second shots once they got it in the paint.”

The 14th annual shootout event is hosted by the Evanston-based Danny Did Organization to help fund epilepsy research.

Evanston will take a 17-9 overall record into the final home game of the season on Monday versus De La Salle.