ETHS Boys Basketball Ties Up Thanksgiving Tourney

No first place trophy could have fully accounted for the progress made by the Evanston basketball team at the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament, anyway.

The Wildkits settled for a three-way tie for the title Saturday night after defeating Lane Tech 65-59 but Mount Carmel --- the only team to beat ETHS in five games --- was declared the tourney winner based on points allowed in the round-robin event.

Evanston, Mount Carmel and Zion-Benton all concluded tourney play with victories on Saturday. The Wildkits survived 20 missed free throws (23-of-43 overall from the charity stripe) by limiting the hosts to just 25 points in the second half.

“We weren’t really focused today, so we were glad to get out of there with a win,” admitted ETHS coach Mike Ellis. “I think at halftime (leading just 35-34) our kids figured if we’re going to win, we have to start locking them up on defense.

“I feel like we got better as a team this week and that’s more important than a trophy. We learned a lot about our team and what it takes to win. It was definitely a productive week for us.”

Evanston prevailed with a balanced scoring attack Saturday that was paced by C.J. Singletary (13 points), Elijah Henry (11 points, 5 rebounds), Marcus Johnson (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Will Jones (10 points). Freshman Nojel Eastern contributed 6 assists.

The Kits converted 11-of-18 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Overall the winners outscored Lane 23-9 at the charity stripe.

Evanston (4-1) hosts New Trier Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second annual Bob Bost Classic game.