On Friday, Feb. 5, the New Trier boys basketball team suffered a tough loss at home against rival Evanston Township High School, after staying neck-and-neck with the Wildkits through the third quarter. The loss leaves the Trevians with a 14-9 record.
The pressure was on all week because of the long-standing rivalry between ETHS and NT. “We tried to prepare for this game just like any other,” junior forward Jack French said. “But it really isn’t like any other game we play during the year. We try going into every game with the same mindset focusing on what we are going to do, but for this game especially, we just tried to enjoy the experience.” The stands were packed with both Evanston and New Trier fans who were cheering from start to finish.
Teddy McGregor, a junior center on the team, said, “Evanston has been a rival of ours for a long time. They always have a good team and so do we, so the games are usually very competitive.”
This game was no exception. From the opening tip-off, the Trevians capitalized on strong defense to contain the high scoring Wildkit offense. The rivals fought for each basket. French said, ‘’Both teams were very passionate about the game and it got heated at times on the court.”
By the end of the first quarter, the score stood at a mere 10-7, with the Wildkits taking a narrow lead. The low scoring trend continued, with the game at 25-17 at the half — just as Coach Scott Fricke had game-planned.
“At half, our coach told us to keep the speed of the game at our level because it is difficult to run with Evanston,” McGregor said. “Throughout the week he preached rebounding because Evanston likes to crash the offensive boards.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Trevians kept the game close, at 31-29.
Yet despite the strong effort from New Trier, the Wildkits managed to hold a lead for the entire game, and they pulled ahead at the end to win 53-39. 6-5 junior guard Nojel Eastern, one of the best players in the state, led Evanston by scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He also made 5-6 three-point shots.
Evanston coach Mike Ellis told Evanston Now that the New Trier crowd played a big role in ETHS missing a ton of shots in the first half.

“It wasn’t easy for us tonight,” Ellis said. “In the first half every 3-point shot we took (1-of-9) was long. You could tell that was because they were so amped up (in front of a near-capacity crowd), so we just told them at halftime to slow down a little and we shot 6-of-12 in the second half.”
The win clinched Evanston their second consecutive CSL South championship. They are 8-0 this season in conference, as well as 20-2 overall.
Despite the tough loss, the team continues to progress. “We had a rough start but then picked it up with a nine game win streak,” McGregor said. “We’ve started to play together better.” Leadership has been a strength on the team. Captains Mike Hurley, Tino Malnati and Colin Winchester help the team focus and stay unified.
French said that the team, “Enjoyed the experience of one of the best rivalries in the state and enjoyed the crowd that came out to support us.”