Ojala Leads Wildkits To Comeback Win

Evanston’s basketball team faced another uphill climb Saturday with leading scorer and rebounder Vito Rocca sidelined with an injury for the second game in a row.

And just like against Loyola Academy earlier in the week, Ben Ojala picked up two personal fouls in the first quarter and wasn’t much help the rest of the first half.

But once again --- just like against Loyola --- Ojala delivered for the Wildkits in crunch time.

A buzzer beating shot wasn’t required this time. Instead, Ojala poured in 15 points in the fourth quarter --- including the last eight of the game for ETHS --- and the Kits showed their grit and resolve in an 82-76 victory over a talented Peoria Richwoods team at Beardsley Gym.

The afternoon matinee drew only a couple hundred spectators for a matchup that was good enough for a Final Four. Evanston, ranked No. 9 in the state of Illinois in last week’s Associated Press poll, overcame a 12-point halftime deficit behind Ojala’s 25 points and 20 apiece from Tate Schroeder and Dion Lane Jr .

Richwoods made the 3-hour journey for a reunion with ETHS head coach Mike Ellis, who led the Knights to a pair state runner-up finishes in seven years at the start of his coaching career. Richwoods’ rising sophomore guard Amarion Smith-Holley, who has already earned Division I recruiting interest, paced all scorers with 31 points including a perfect 15-for-15 showing at the free throw line.

The Knights, who led 41-29 at halftime, fell to 18-4 on the year. The triumph was the 8th in a row for Evanston, now 18-3 overall.

Ellis had a subdued reaction to the tough win, probably because the first statistic he pointed out was that the Wildkits had surrendered a combined 100 points between the last two quarters against Loyola and the first two quarters Saturday.

But he also appreciated that second half comeback, especially the effort by Ojala.

“There was nothing personal about this for me today, because people in Peoria were great to me,” said the veteran coach. “It was a hard game for me to coach, but it’s not about me. I’m just trying to help our players get better and better, especially on defense.

“Coach (William) Smith does a great job and Richwoods is really good. They have a lot of pieces and they’re hard to guard, just like we are. I do have to give our guys credit because they just kept chipping away and chipping away today. They are still learning how to play without Vito and they didn’t hang their heads when they got down. Everything had run through Vito all summer and all fall and now it’s a new dynamic without him. They’re still getting used to it.”

Keeping Ojala on the floor to run the offense is a must. The sophomore is becoming adept at taking what the defense gives ETHS in his hybrid role as a “lead guard” who is relied on for his scoring, but also has to put his teammates in position to succeed like a more traditional point guard.

“That foul situation made Ben tentative in the first half (he only scored two points), but once he got deeper into the second half without picking up another one, you could see him playing with more confidence,” Ellis said. “Without him we just weren’t executing in the first half.

“Ben should feel more like a junior point guard by now because this is our 21st game. He’s hard to guard and he’s making good decisions. He’s taken another step for us.”

Evanston’s offense woke up in the second half after the Kits converted just 11-of-27 field goal attempts in the first two periods. The hosts fired in 10 3-point baskets in the second half, including four by Ojala and three in a row by Lane Jr, and finished with a much-more-like-it 50 percent marksmanship overall at 26-for-52.

“I’m not ever going to question the shots they take. They’re really smart and the challenge is getting them to play together at the defensive end,” Ellis added.

The Wildkits outscored the Knights 27-12 to seize a 56-53 lead after three quarters, scoring 11 points in the last 90 seconds on 3-pointers by Lane Jr. (back-to-back) and Schroeder, plus a pair of Ojala free throws.

Early in the fourth quarter, Schroeder displayed his own clutch ability with a 3-pointer and two free throws that helped build the advantage to 65-56. But with Smith-Holley camped out at the free throw line the rest of the way, the Knights wouldn’t go away and closed to within two points again and again at 72-70, 74-72, and 78-76, the last on a short jumper by Smith-Holley with 14 seconds left in regulation.

But Evanston had the answer every time at the other end. Ojala sank four free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the win.

Timi Ogunsanya added 10 points for the winners. Backing up Smith-Holley for Richwoods were Tony Bradford with 14 points, Anfernee Moore with 13, and Kaden Johnson with 12.