Ojala Leads Kits To 3rd Place At Centralia Tourney

Persistent foul trouble has plagued Ben Ojala over the first one-third of Evanston’s basketball season.

And in his role as lead guard for the Wildkits --- a combination of point guard and scoring guard --- there’s also a lot on his plate at the offensive end.

But if the talented sophomore has learned anything so far in 2025-26, he’s learned that you can’t connect on any 3-point shots if you’re sitting next to head coach Mike Ellis on the bench for most of the game.

Ojala erupted for a career-high 27 points on New Year’s Eve and earned all-tournament recognition while leading Evanston to a third place finish at the 82nd annual Centralia Holiday Tournament.

The Wildkits bounced back from a 73-60 semifinal loss to eventual champion Marist on Wednesday, whipping Alton 80-63 behind Ojala’s 27 points in the third place contest. ETHS will take an overall record of 11-3 into next Tuesday’s game at Maine South as Central Suburban League South division play resumes.

Ojala was one of seven players named all-tournament after pouring in 58 points in four games and leading Evanston to the tourney semifinals for the sixth straight year. Against Alton, he sank 10-of-14 field goal attempts, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range, and had a team-high six assists to help ETHS shoot 55 percent from the floor.

The young guard still has a learning curve with no ceiling for a Kits’ team that starts four underclassmen.

“Ben did a lot better job staying out of foul trouble this week, and it’s a good thing because the Centralia Holiday Tournament employs some of the best officials in the state,” pointed out Ellis. “He really shot it well in the last game. I think the lesson he learned on this trip it’s that when you (always) have two fouls in the first quarter, it’s hard to produce from the bench.

“When he’s on the floor and he’s not in foul trouble, then he can play free and loose --- and make better decisions, too. Part of that is playing smarter and knowing your limitations, and not trying to do too much. That’s true for everyone, and we’re going to spend two hours at our next practice watching TV (game film) so they can define what’s good for them, and what we can get better at.

“It started for Ben in practice the week of semester exams (prior to the Downstate trip). You could see him starting to get a better rhythm, a better feel, and he looked a lot better. I anticipated him playing well at the tournament.”

Both Ojala and Vito Rocca experienced foul trouble in the first half of the semifinal loss to a Marist team that is clearly one of the top 10 in the state of Illinois. With two starters on the bench, Evanston fell behind 17-12 at the first quarter break and needed a late surge to close within 39-30 by halftime.

Rocca only played the final 20 seconds of the second quarter and his putback of a missed Ojala shot with two seconds left gave Wildkit fans some hope. But Marist had an answer for everything ETHS threw at them in the third quarter and still led by eight at that point.

Both Rocca and Ojala finished with 15 points in the defeat and Dion Lane Jr. added 12. For Marist, eventual tournament MVP Charles Barnes (a transfer from De La Salle) was unstoppable with a game-high 31 points including 9-of-10 from 3-point range.

“We were just grateful we had an opportunity to play another game (five hours later), because we felt we could have played a lot better against Marist,” Ellis explained. “I felt like everybody tried to do too much at the start of that game and we were focused too much on the offensive end. Our lack of ball movement put us in a lot of troubling situations, and their transfer really didn’t have to work for those points and made every shot he took.”

Against Alton (8-5), Ojala and Rocca combined for 16 points in the first quarter when Evanston broke out to a 24-10 advantage. The sophomore sharpshooter added back-to-back 3-point buckets in the second quarter and the Kits enjoyed a 45-30 lead at the halftime break.

Alton didn’t go away quietly. The southern Illinois squad scored the first six points of the second half to draw within 47-36, but that was as close as the Redbirds ever got thanks to 3-point baskets from Ojala, Lane and Timi Ogunsanya.

The winners shot 15-of-31 from long range as Ogunsanya (14), Lane Jr. (12) and Rocca (12) also reached double figures.

Evanston opened tournament play by blitzing defending Class 2A state champion Dyett (74-15) and Tennessee foe Memphis Homeschool Education Association (76-44) in a pair of slaughter rule games.

The Wildkits overwhelmed Dyett to the point where the winners recorded more steals (17) than points allowed, perhaps for the first time in school history. Both Tristen Wilcox and Ojala were credited with three steals apiece to go with two from Tate Schroeder, Ogunsanya and Desi Israelite.

Ogunsanya tallied 14 points in just 12 and a half minutes of floor time, one of five Kits in double figures.

In the quarterfinal round against Memphis HEA, which was making its first tournament appearance, Rocca stashed in a game-high 21 points to go with five rebounds and four steals for the 6-foot-6 junior.

Evanston converted 23-of-25 free throw attempts and led 68-39 after three quarters.

Evanston’s success since rejoining the tournament back in 2018 has come both on and off the court and Ellis has no plans to find another place to play over the holiday break.

“It’s a long trip, but we get to play against some different programs in one of the best gyms in the entire nation,” said the Wildkit coach. “When you drive into town you see that sign saying this is the winningest program (host Centralia) in the nation and that helps introduce our kids into the history of the sport they’re playing. This tournament has more history than any other tournament in the state.

“It’s not like any other community down there. The fans talk to the players --- they treat them like they’re NBA players --- and they respect the way they play, and the way they’re passionate about basketball.”