Wildkits Earn 17th Win With Lockdown Defense

Kaidan Chatham’s decision to transfer from Niles North to Evanston was based on the idea that he might get more touches on the basketball court on offense in the Wildkit program.

But it turns out that the 6-foot-2 senior guard has made just as much an impact on the defensive end of the floor.

Chatham’s all-around game was on display for the surprisingly large crowd at Loyola Academy on a Tuesday night where the temperature hovered at zero degrees. He delivered stifling defense in the backcourt, to go with a team-high 11 points and eight assists, as the Wildkits throttled the Ramblers 49-33 for their 17th win of the season.

Chatham’s in-your-face defense locked down Loyola’s outstanding junior guard, Trey Williams, who scored a game-high 12 points but only mustered two field goals in the last three quarters. That effort was part of a dominant effort on Evanston’s part in a matchup of two programs that always hang their hat on stopping the opponent.

How good was the ETHS defense? Loyola went scoreless for almost seven full minutes in the second quarter on their home court and endured another scoring drought of almost six minutes in the third period while falling to 16-6 on the year.

Holding opposing teams under their season averages has been an ETHS trademark since head coach Mike Ellis took over the program. But what goes unnoticed is the fact that Ellis and his staff have maintained a high standard of expectations on defense even with an influx of transfers into the program over the last five years.

New players discover that if you don’t buy in --- and quickly --- your playing time will be limited.

Chatham found that out while competing for the Wildkits in the summer after coming over from a program where defense is considered a four-letter word. Now, he and fellow guard Ian Peters are making life miserable for enemy backcourts.

“The coaches are always saying of you want to play, you’ve got to defend,” Chatham said. “Since I came here I’ve learned how to close out better, and I’m taking better angles on defense and not letting guys get on my hip. Coach Mayne (assistant coach Necus Mayne, a former defensive standout for the Kits) stays on me all the time about that.

“To get where we want to go this year, you have to defend. That’s what great teams do. No matter what the circumstances are, we prioritize defense here and everyone has to be in the right spot for us to succeed.”

Ellis was doubly impressed by Chatham’s performance on the road Tuesday.

“I think a lot of what happens when you go into a new program is about building relationships and building trust. That helps you play better, and these guys all trust each other,” said the ETHS coach. “And Kaidan’s a player who’s not out for himself.

“He only had one turnover tonight and we had one of our lowest season totals (seven) against a team that really prides itself on defense. That’s just phenomenal. He was huge for us tonight. I’m really impressed with the way all of our guys played with poise --- and also played smart. We’re in a tough stretch of games (hosting Deerfield on Friday and traveling to defending Class 3A state champion Metamora on Saturday) and we started out with a solid win tonight.”

The Wildkits clamped down on the host team after surrendering 16 points in the first quarter and falling behind 16-12. The second quarter turnaround saw the visitors force seven turnovers and that limited the Ramblers to just five field goal attempts in the entire quarter.

Evanston racked up 12 unanswered points with Chatham accounting for seven on his own. But the Kits couldn’t create much separation despite almost pitching a shutout in the period and only led 24-20 at the intermission.

So they came back out of the lockerroom and did it again on defense. By the time Loyola scored its first basket --- a short jumper in the lane by Williams with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining --- in the third quarter, the winners had pushed the advantage to double digits and never looked back.

Now 17-3 overall, the Kits backed Chatham with 10 points from sophomore Vito Rocca, nine apiece from Theo Rocca and Ben Ojala, and eight from George Richardson.

Loyola shot just 11-of-31 (35 percent) from the field as the four starters besides Williams totaled a combined 17 points.