Despite racking up a solid 12-5 record in the first half of the 2023-24 basketball season, Evanston head coach Mike Ellis couldn’t help but lament the missed opportunities his team had in November and December.
Flipping the calendar over to January, that remained the Wildkits’ theme.
Evanston managed just 3 points in the entire fourth quarter Friday night at Beardsley Gymnasium and lost another winnable game, this time by a 48-45 margin to Glenbrook South. The Wildkits concluded the first round of play in the Central Suburban League South division with a 2-3 record and face an uphill battle in the second half, when three of their conference tests are on the road --- at GBS, Glenbrook North and New Trier, the three teams ahead of them in the standings.
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Ellis’ squad can’t be concerned about the conference race at this point. The veteran coach is still waiting for someone to take charge in big moments.
Friday, the Kits still had a chance when South’s Anestis Hadjistamoulou split a pair of bonus free throws with 13.6 seconds left to leave the door open a crack. But, after a timeout, Theo Rocca came up short on a 20-foot shot and the Titans escaped with the win.
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Rocca (game-high 18 points) and Brandon Watson (10) led the hosts, while Nate Kasher (14), Hadjistamoulou (13) and Nick Taylor (11) helped the Titans improve to 14-3 overall.
“It’s another missed opportunity,” Ellis sighed. “We have to do a better job of taking advantage of the opportunities we get. We had our chances tonight.
“We didn’t have anyone step up when we needed them most. They had guys step up and that didn’t happen for us. We were trying to find the best shot possible (Evanston shot just 6 times in the fourth quarter, making 1) and being meticulous on offense. We wanted to attack and get the best shot and we weren’t in a mode of panic or anything. But when you take your time, and then get a good shot, you have to knock them down.”
Watson’s runner in the lane with 6 minutes, 12 seconds left in the game was the last field goal the losers scored. That bucket provided a 44-39 advantage, but Evanston only dented the scoreboard once more, when junior Ian Peters tied the game at 45-all with a free throw at the 1:35 mark.
A veteran GBS squad countered with Kasher’s drive to the basket for what turned out to be the game-winning score with 49 seconds remaining, and Hadjistamoulou’s subsequent free throw after a 3-point attempt by Watson rolled out in between. The Titans were 4-of-4 from the field in the final period with the game on the line.
Evanston sputtered when the visitors switched to a 1-2-2 zone defense midway through the third period. A pair of 3-point baskets by Rocca supplied a two-possession lead --- at 42-37 --- by the end of the quarter, but the offense stalled in neutral after that.
Ellis might have considered holding the ball against that zone --- the Titans never did come out of it --- but he acknowledged that it’s not something his team has practiced, and the lack of experience would have made that an iffy solution, at best.
“If we were the more experienced team, I would have considered pulling it out,” he said. “But I know GBS has the experience to have handled it if we tried to test them that way.
“You’ve just got to convert shots when you get those opportunities. It’s precious when you get those chances, and it’s all magnified in the fourth quarter.”
The Wildkits did get a much-needed offensive boost in the second quarter from sophomore Timi Ogunsanya, who scored all 7 of his points in the period and with 7 more from Rocca, forced a 24-24 tie at halftime.
“Timi’s on the floor because of his offensive talent,” said Ellis, “and we want to see more of his defensive talent and his rebounding talent for him to be on the floor more. He played a solid game tonight, and we really believe in him.”
Evanston hosts Schaumburg Saturday at 3 p.m. in a non-conference contest.
