Tate's Tip-In Leads To 20th Win For Kits

Tate Schroeder may develop into one of the leading 3-point shooters in Evanston’s basketball history by the time he graduates.

But it was an old-fashioned 3-point play by the junior guard that gave the Wildkits a lift in the early stages of Evanston’s 64-54 victory at Glenbrook South Friday night.

Schroeder scored a game-high 22 points --- yes, he shot 5-of-9 from 3-point range --- as Evanston eased to its 20th win of the season. The Wildkits reached the 20-victory plateau for the fourth year in a row and have recorded at least that many wins in 12 of the 15 seasons since Mike Ellis took over as head coach.

The winners, now 20-3 overall, actually led by 17 points midway through the fourth quarter before the Titans (9-13) made the final more respectable against the ETHS reserves.

Evanston has won 10 in a row and will face an athletic Bolingbrook squad on Saturday at ETHS at the annual War On The Shore tripleheader that also involves New Trier and Loyola Academy. The Wildkits, ranked 6th in the latest Class 4A Associated Press state poll, have a chance to deliver a statement win on Saturday.

But Friday’s triumph went a long way as far as erasing the bad taste left in their collective mouths when they struggled to beat a mediocre Lake Park team 51-48.

“Winning 20 games in a season is an achievement for any high school basketball team,” Ellis said. “But I really think our guys were anxious to get back out on the floor tonight to show that Tuesday night wasn’t what we’ve been all season.

“We did a good job of pulling away from them in the second half. I thought maybe we could have done that in the first half. Sometimes our kids are so nice and you don’t want them to play to their personality. I’d enjoy a little more killer instinct, a little more sensing of the moment so that when you get up 7, 8, or 9 points, you don’t get satisfied and take your foot off the gas.”

Schroeder was in attack mode while also handling one of his toughest defensive assignments to date. With 6-foot-6 Vito Rocca still sidelined by an injury, the 6-4 Schroeder matched up against South’s only real scoring threat, 6-8 Jacob Fuller. Fuller scored 22 points of his own, on 6-of-9 marksmanship from the 3-point stripe, but some of those shots came when Schroeder was taking a break on the bench and a couple treys came when Fuller got open in transition.

Schroeder’s signature play came after Dillon Pompey’s steal and lay-up gave the visitors an 18-16 lead. Minutes later, Dion Lane missed a jumper but Schroeder soared high on the left side of the rim, and while falling backward as he was fouled, he tipped the ball in with his left hand.

Schroeder’s subsequent free throw and a 3-point basket by Ben Ojala on an inbound play on the next possession helped supply a 31-25 lead by halftime, and Evanston never looked back.

“Tate was just looking to keep that possession alive, and he really attacked the basket,” Ellis noted. “That’s the great thing about the way this game works. The people who make the plays like that are the ones who end up being the leading scorers.

“For Tate, it’s all about just getting good shots. He doesn’t force a lot of shots and he does a good job of letting the ball find him. He’s having a great thing. The one thing that impresses me most is that he hasn’t backed down from taking on a larger role for us this year, because in the past his personality was just to defer to the others. Now, he’s one of our central pieces --- it’s been magnificent, the way he plays --- and hopefully he understands his value to this team.”

Ojala (13 points, 4 assists) and Lane (11 points, 5 rebounds) also reached double figures for the Kits. Evanston shot 47 percent (26-of-65) from the field despite converting only 10-of-29 3-point tries.

For GBS, Alex Kaled came off the bench to contribute 10 points.