Boys Basketball: Tigers roar to two victories
By Danny Carlino Contributor January 30, 2012 12:06PM
Elmwood Park's David Baratta drives to the basket, during the Tigers' victory over Fenton on Friday. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:16AM
The Tigers built big leads in both of their games at home last week en route to sweeping them both.
On Jan. 23, they raced past Chicago Academy 58-36 with freshman Joe Uvelli leading the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Their Metro Suburban Conference battle with Fenton looked like it might be a comfortable win, too, but the Bison mounted a big comeback that the Tigers thwarted at the end to take a 62-58 win.
“We took care of the ball and got shots up in the first quarter, but we weren’t converting, and we were down 11-2,” said Elmwood Park head coach Mike Wasielewski. “I knew we were OK because we were getting the shots we wanted. We had a good comeback in the second and pulled away in the third. We’re trying to play better as a team and everyone is getting on board.”
Elmwood Park’s 15-0 run to close out the first half proved to just be enough. Four Tigers scored in double digits led by Julian Molina’s 16 in a rare start on the bench. Anthony Santiago scored 14 points while Uvelli added 12, including a big three-pointer midway through the fourth and a pair of free throws in the final minute of the game.
“I shoot all the time, so those shots are like any other,” Uvelli said. “A shot is a shot, so the pressure is not that big of a deal. I shoot 100 shots every day, but some people might think there’s more pressure because I’m a freshman. There is pressure, but you just can’t let it affect you.”
Uvelli’s three gave the Tigers (10-7, 2-4) a 12-point lead with 4:54 left, but the Bison wouldn’t go quietly. They went on a 13-2 run of their own to bring themselves within a single point with just 1:12 remaining. Uvelli calmly sank a pair of free throws with 39.1 seconds left to make it a three-point Tigers lead.
Elmwood Park had some foul trouble as it put the Bison in the bonus by the end of the third quarter. Luckily for the Tigers, Fenton had some issues from the line, making just 6-of-12 in the fourth quarter and 14-of-23 overall.
“We showed some immaturity,” said Wasielewski of how the fourth quarter played out. “However, we were able to pull this one out. We’re still growing, and we’re not as good as we can be.”
The Tigers continue their home stand with another conference tilt against Glenbard South on Friday night. They then go to Guerin on Feb. 6, before returning home to face Montini the following night in a pair of nonconference affairs.
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