When the second half began Friday night, the moment of truth arrived for Elgin senior Courtese Cooper.
He made a statement on behalf of the Maroons and possibly for his own future.
Cooper drained three 3-pointers in his 18-point third quarter as host Elgin rallied for a 56-49 Upstate Eight River victory over Streamwood, his former school.
“In the first half, I don’t think I made any 3, and they weren’t too worried about me,” Cooper said. “So when I came out the second half, I started heating up, and they weren’t expecting it.”
Cooper, a 6-foot-8 center, had 27 points, 18 rebounds, and eight blocked shots in an effort that Elgin coach Mike Sitter hopes could help attract more college attention.
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“(Assistant Marcus) Howard and I had been on him,” Sitter said. “We said we needed a game film we can send to schools to show them what you can do. And this was finally it where he put four quarters together.
“He played some inside, played some outside, ran the floor, rim-protected and did a little of everything. So that was nice to see.”
Although Elgin (9-5, 2-3) trailed 26-20 at halftime, Cooper led an 18-4 surge to start the third quarter. The Maroons took a 43-32 lead entering the fourth, then successfully spread the floor to run off time and win their fourth straight.
Cooper enjoyed the fact that the win over Streamwood (5-11, 0-5) came against old Canton Middle School friends like the Sabres’ Jason Manalansan.
“This is like my rival school because I (transferred) from there after my freshman year,” Cooper said. “So I had to take care of business in the second half. It was my responsibility.”
Cooper’s third-quarter frenzy included three 3-pointers on three attempts, two dunks, five blocked shots and five rebounds. His second 3-pointer put Elgin ahead for good at 31-28.
“At halftime, coach said we were playing a step slower than them, and if we played like that again we were going to lose,” Cooper said. “And we didn’t want to lose.”
Tim Wolf finished with 13 points for Elgin, while Dan Toolsie added six points, three steals and two assists.
“That’s the first time this season where Courtese took complete control of a game, and it was really exciting for us to see,” Toolsie said.
Streamwood scored only nine points in the first 13 minutes of the second half. Malik Butler led the Sabres with 16 points, and Manalansan had 11.
“Too many breakdowns and a lack of execution on our part, defensively and offensively,” Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn said. “We didn’t run anything. I thought there was too much one-on-one stuff going on out there.
“And defensively, we know Cooper wants to shoot, and we leave him open three or four times — wide open. I don’t know how that happens.”
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