Boys Basketball: Rich East presses way past Evanston

Updated: December 26, 2011 7:09PM

Rich East sprung a trapping defense on Evanston to capture a 57-51 upset in the first round of the 39th McDipper Tournament at Rich South high school.

Raheem Jackson led the way with 10 points for the Rockets (5-7), who used the trap in the first quarter to take a 13-7 lead after trailing 6-0.

The press led to fast break buckets as Ronald Lawton and Nicholas Home combined for nine points in a 13-1 run to end the quarter.

‘‘I think we caught [Evanston] off guard with our trap,’’ Rich East coach George Leonard said. ‘‘It was just great hustle on our part that we were able to jump on them like we did.’’

Evanston (8-3) recovered behind Chris Rudnicki, who scored six of his 16 points in a 12-3 run to vault the Wildkits to a 19-16 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.

That’s when the wheels fell off for Evanston. Rich East turned up the intensity on its trap and took a 32-21 halftime lead.

Lawton figured prominently again in that stretch with four points, four steals and three rebounds. Anthony Perkins also scored four points during the 16-2 run.

‘‘Lawton can be a great player,’’ Leonard said. ‘‘As soon as he realizes it, he will do some very special things for us.’’

Rudnicki scored seven points in the fourth quarter as Evanston attempted to stage a final rally. But the Wildkits could draw no closer than six points.

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