Quick start (and finish) as Barrington motors past Grant
Slow starts to their boys basketball games have been a sore spot for Barrington coach Bryan Tucker.
"We haven't been getting out of the gate real well," said Tucker. "Against Fremd, we started out slow and it cost us. I emphasized in practice we had to come out quicker."
Senior forward Jake Parsons took Tucker's words to heart.
Parsons started off the host Broncos with a bang in their nonconference game against visiting Grant by connecting on a 3 on Barrington's first possession.
Barrington opened up a 15-1 lead following Jason Boock's 3 with 3:56 left in the quarter.
Barrington went on to beat the Bulldogs 62-39 Tuesday night.
Tucker said Parson' experience helped the Broncos get headed in the right direction.
"There's a senior going out and setting the tone for us," said Tucker. "Jake did a lot of things for us tonight. He scored, had some nice slashes to the basket, played good defense, rebounded and started off the game with a 3-pointer. He has the ability to play like that."
Parsons finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds as the Broncos upped their record to 13-4.
"We came out with energy tonight," said Parsons. "We didn't come out with a hot start against Fremd last Friday. Having a game like this one really boosted my confidence. I was determined to just go out and try to do everything I could to help us win."
Grant (5-10) played hard for the first three quarters. The Bulldogs slowly cut into the Broncos' lead and only trailed 38-32 going into the fourth quarter.
Grant used a 6-0 run to pull to 35-32 with :56 left in the third quarter on a buckety by Hunter Waszkowski. Brandon Albertson, though, countered with a 3 with :35 left to give the Broncos some breathing room.
Boock (20 points) scored 10 points in Barrington's 21-3 run to start the fourth quarter. Five other Broncos scored in the quarter.
Anthony Spann added 8 points and 5 rebounds for Barrington, which out-boarded Grant 34-23.
"I was happy with the outcome," said Tucker. "We played better defense tonight. There are still some blips we have to take care of, but we made some progress."
"We just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter," said Grant forward Henry Kusiak. "Our slow start hurt us in the first quarter. Had some of our shots fallen it might have been a different game. We learned tonight how to play against a physical team."
Mike Huff and Torren Curry both scored 9 points for Grant, while Kusiak had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
"Barrington was big, strong, and physical with us," said Grant coach Wayne Bosworth. "This was a higher level of game for us. I was very proud of how we played the first three quarters. Then the tank hit 'E.' "