O’NEILL — And then the rain came.
A downpour of three-point baskets in the second half propelled the Wolfpack to a 55 to 44 victory over Stuart in the opening round of the subdistrict basketball tournament.
“When we shoot with confidence, we play with confidence,” Coach Matt Euse said about beating Stuart. “Defensively, I thought we played a great game all around.”
Leading 31 to 29 late in the third quarter, Elgin Public-Pope John put the Broncos to bed with a scoring barrage unlike anything before in postseason play.
Having been blown out in their own gym the last time the two teams played, Stuart kept it close for nearly three quarters.
They trailed by just two points, 31 to 29, with 1:45 left in the third quarter and appeared to have momentum on their side outscoring EPPJ 13 to six at that point in the second half.
Then, the ‘heavens’ opened up and the Wolfpack rained down upon their opponent one trey after another. Kellan Hoefer connected first. Then, after Jarek Erickson sank two free throws, senior sharpshooter Dylan Kolm drained a trey from the left corner with two seconds on the quarter to bump the lead to 39 to 30.
…see more at this week’s Elgin Review.
