When Evanston’s basketball coaching staff decided to switch gears and change the offensive attack the Wildkits run this season, the last thing they wanted to do was discourage team play.
A more creative offense --- not just on the ball but off the ball --- didn’t mean asking the Kits to beat their defenders 1-on-1 off the dribble. That’s a message that is finally starting to sink in as Evanston defeated Maine South 59-48 at Beardsley Gym Friday night.
The Wildkits shot exactly 50 percent from the floor and scored their second Central Suburban League South division victory in three tries while improving to 8-3 overall. They poured in 35 points in the second half as Theo Rocca (17 points) and Morgan Brown (13) showed the way.
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The winners sank 10 3-point field goals and likely would have blown the Hawks out eventually, except for an abysmal showing (9-of-17) at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Maine South fell to 0-3 in league play and 5-4 overall despite a game-high 22 points from Panayiotis Soto.
“It was nice to see us put up 59 points tonight,” said Evanston head coach Mike Ellis. “We came out with an agenda, and it was nice to see the way they responded after the last couple of games where we struggled to score.
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“We ran our offense as well tonight as we have all season. You’ve gotta knock down shots --- and we did --- but we did a good job of catching the ball and looking for the next open man, rather than just trying to create shots for ourselves. That’s when we get into trouble.
“This (5-out motion) offense is more creative and there are more options available to guys OFF the ball, when they’re cutting and screening. It takes time to learn, even with experienced players. Tonight we were spacing the floor and finding the open man. When you don’t over-dribble, then you’re able to see the open players.”
Evanston sank 10-of-19 attempts from 3-point range and limited the Hawks to just 7 buckets from long range. That’s just what Ellis had in mind.
“Maine South can shoot it,” the ETHS coach noted. “If you look at their (season) shot chart, it’s all 3-pointers and layups. You have to take one of those away, and we were able to do that.
“I also thought the difference tonight was our discipline on the boards. Maine South only had three offensive rebounds, so any time they shot it was one and done. We were really solid with our check-outs and our assignments. In the past we’ve been caught just watching shots, but not tonight.”
Evanston only trailed once in the contest, down 7-5 in the first quarter, but couldn’t really find the range on offense until the second half. The Kits led 24-17 at halftime and then Rocca --- who has been in a shooting slump --- connected on three straight 3-point shots to boost the lead to 40-28 after three periods.
Three-point shots by Jonny Dickson and Ian Peters, plus all of those free throws, kept the Hawks from getting any closer than 7 points the rest of the game.
The Wildkits play a rare Monday game at Maine East, and then will host New Trier next Thursday in a girls-boys doubleheader set to start at 6 p.m.
Ellis’ squad also learned the matchups for their trip to the Centralia Holiday Tournament Dec. 28-30. They’ll face Miami (Florida) Ferguson at 3:45 p.m. in the first round on Dec. 28.
Miami Ferguson is one of three out-of-state teams involved in the tourney this year, along with Kipp of Tennessee and Memphis MHEA. Belleville West, Carmel, Mount Vernon, Payton Prep, Marist, Cahokia, Chatham-Glenwood, Dyett, Alton, Bogan, Champaign Central and the host team make up the rest of the field.
