New Trier fights but runs out of gas in Evanston

For New Trier basketball, it doesn’t get more irritating than a loss to century-old rival Evanston.

But after that result on Friday night, Trevians coach Scott Fricke focused on a different message.

“Guys are stepping up and playing their ass off,” he said. “Our kids are playing hard right now and we’re trying to figure out how to play without our point guard (senior Christopher Kirkpatrick). And I’m really proud of our guys.”

The host Wildkits’ fourth-quarter shot-making doomed the Trevians in a 67-59 defeat on Jan. 9 in the nightcap of the Bost Family Classic, an annual New Trier-Evanston basketball doubleheader in honor of Bob Bost, a former Evanston teacher and coach, and his grandson Ryan Bost, a Wildkits player from 2015-’19 who died in 2020.

The final quarter was Evanston’s most prolific, as the Kits tallied 23 points, primarily through shots at the rim.

The Trevians’ hopes for a comeback, Fricke said, relied on making defensive stops.

“We have to get stops in the fourth quarter. We didn’t get stops,” he said. “That could be because we were a little fatigued. … They were just shooting uncontested layups. We kept fighting and coming back, but you’re not going to win when teams are scoring those types of baskets.”

With a Danny Houlihan bucket, a crafty right-handed lay-in off a spin move, the Trevians nabbed a lead at 38-36 late in the third quarter. But Evanston’s Timi Ogunsanya (18 points — 15 in the second half) took the lead right back with a three-pointer.

The Kits took a two-point advantage into the fourth quarter and only extended it. New Trier got within one possession, 61-58, once more, but Evanston protected its lead.

“I just feel like we got tired and they were just in better shape,” New Trier junior Elton Jaegerskog said. “We just have to work harder in practice, get better every day. I feel like they just went by us. We weren’t playing good enough defense.”

New Trier’s gameplan worked early, as the Trevians sprinted to a 6-0 advantage and held Evanston scoreless for the game’s first four minutes.

But then things went sideways for the visitors. Freshman forward Denym Wallace, who had a basket and four rebounds early, picked up two fouls and the Trevians could not buy a basket, missing several shots at and around the basket.

“We missed layups,” Fricke said. “There’s not much to do about it; you can work on finishing, but we missed eight point-blank layups early and it came back to cost us. I thought we should have been up six or eight points at halftime.”

The Kits took advantage, finishing the first quarter on a 9-0 run before carrying a four-point lead 23-19 into halftime.

Wallace’s foul trouble, which continued in the third quarter, “was huge,” Fricke said, as the Trevians have looked to their young standout more with Princeton commit and three-year varsity starter Kirkpatrick sidelined with a knee injury.

While Kirkpatrick’s status remains uncertain, Fricke said the Trevians (13-4, 3-1) are still learning to fill the void and he praised a number of his players for their growth and fight in Kirkpatrick’s absence.

Jaegerskog led the way Friday with 16 points, while Houlihan added 15. Wallace finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds, and senior Max Vogel had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and several assists.

“Everyone just felt like he’s our best player, he’s our primary ball-handler and we all have to set up,” Jaegerskog said of Kirkpatrick. “We all just fight to get better every day. We all know we have to step up and face adversity.” 

The Kits had four players in double-figures, led by Ogunsanya and junior Vito Rocca with 18 apiece. Junior Dion Lane Jr. added 15 and sophomore Ben Ojala 11.

The win gives Evanston (13-3 overall, 5-0 conference) early control of the Central Suburban South, and a rematch between the rivals is set for Feb. 13 in New Trier’s Winnetka gym.

Fricke said despite bumps in the road like Friday, the Trevians’ effort amid a tough schedule is going to pay off.

“We have been playing such high-level competition and our guys have been getting up for every game,” he said. “Our guys have a lot of heart. That’s going to show up in February.”

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