When senior Brandon Watson scored the first points of the game just 30 seconds in quickly followed by a rebound from Niles North junior—a former ETHS starter—Yaris Irby, both student sections present in Beardsley Gymnasium knew this game could go either way.
After coming off a dominating win against Schaumburg on Jan. 6, the Kits (13-6, 2-3 CSL) looked to continue this win streak against the Niles North Vikings (13-4, 5-0 CNL) heading into the Deerfield game on Friday. However, after stiff competition on both ends of the floor, the Vikings managed to eke out a win, 53-47.
“We came out [strong] in the second half,” senior Brandon Watson commented. “But in the fourth quarter, we let them pick up the pace while we were still thinking [about] how to win the game.”
Out of the gate for the second quarter, the Vikings’ offensive stride kept up with the Kits’ explosive offense. With both the Kits and the Vikings trading baskets from the first minute of the game and beyond, the contest was neck and neck heading into the fourth quarter, with Niles North in the lead, 38-35.
From field goals coming from the Vikings 30 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 40-35, the Kits needed the team to step up. Fortunately for the Kits, senior Jonny Dickson and junior Theo Rocca filled the gaps. Following a vital three-pointer from Rocca to tie it 40-40, to another big three from Dickson to held the Vikings’ lead to one, 48-47. Unfortunately, the three from Dickson were the last points scored from the Evanston offense.
“Jonny’s three was huge for us, but we couldn’t just get the stop,” Watson reflected. “As Coach [Mike Ellis] said, we can’t let a team like that hang around all game.”
After free throws from Viking junior Reid Olson brought the score 52-47 post-foul on Rocca with just 30 seconds left in the game, and another foul on the Kits led to another free throw from Irby, the Niles North student section—dressed in all black—started cheering, knowing their squad had won this game.
As the clock ran out with possession from Olson, the sound of loud cheers continued. While Niles North players rushed the court, Kits fans started leaving the gym with their jerseys’ on, dealing with the fact that this loss diminished the Kits’ hope of going into a conference game with a two-game win streak.
After this loss, the Kits will hope to improve their conference record in Beardsley Gym on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m., after the girls’ team looks to improve their conference record as well.
