Lane Tech’s valiant comeback against undefeated tournament champion Evanston came up short on Saturday night, as the Wildkits prevailed 47-35 on the final day of action at the Frank V. Lollino Sr. Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament.

After trailing by 11 at the end of the third quarter, the varsity boys’ Indians (2-3) stormed back to pull within just three with a little over 2:30 to play.

But that’s when Evanston’s standout senior guard Josh Irving took over. With 2:20 remaining, the tournament MVP slashed through defenders and connected on a running jumper in the lane.

After a five-second violation forced a turnover by the Indians, Irving set up teammate Brian Bertsche for a three-point dagger.

“[Josh] didn’t have one of his typical games, but he made some big plays that really hurt us,” said Lane Tech head coach Nick Logalbo. “When we had momentum going, he made a big play and stopped our momentum and started theirs. That’s what basketball is about—they have a gamer over there.”

Thanks to a swarming defensive effort in the first half, the Indians went into the break tied at 20 with the Wildkits. But Evanston’s offense erupted in the third quarter, outscoring Lane 17-6.

“We were very impressive in the first half, but that’s been our problem throughout the whole tournament—closing out in the second half,” said Indians senior guard Zach Calamus. “We just didn’t execute down the stretch and didn’t make our free throws.”

The Indians shot just 57 percent from the charity stripe, including making only 5 of its 12 attempts in the second half.

Despite the struggles from the foul line, the Indians received a strong outing from junior forward Zach Barth, who led the team with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Also adding to the Indians offensive attack was senior guard Eric Simmons, who racked up six points.

“Evanston took the tournament, went 5-0 and beat us on our home court, so give them all the credit. They deserve it all,” Simmons said.

Simmons and Calamus, along with sophomore forward Admir Sulgic, were voted to the all-tournament team.

Despite being held scoreless in the tourney finale, Sulgic’s strong shooting over the course of the grueling five-game stretch earned him the distinction.

“There’s good teams all over the state playing in this, so it’s just an honor to be mentioned along with those players,” Sulgic said.

Although the Indians’ 2-3 finish wasn’t what the team had hoped for, Logalbo said the experience will only benefit his team come conference play.

“If you get tested early, it teaches you a lot about your team—and we learned a lot,” he said. “Our goal is to finish in the top half of the conference and surprise some people. So we just have to steadily improve each day.”

Lane Tech has a week off before it resumes play Dec. 7 against Kelly.

BOX SCORE

Largest Lead: 12 pts  (Evanston)        Lead Changes: 3        Number of Ties: 2