Waubonsie Valley 76, Bartlett 57
Going into the second half of Friday's Upstate Eight Conference opener against Waubonsie Valley, Bartlett could not have been hotter.
The Hawks, who led by as many as 12 points, dominated the second quarter and ended the first half with Cory Hrynyk's dunk in the final seconds.
Whatever Waubonsie Valley boys basketball coach Steve Weemer said at halftime, it worked.
The Warriors held Bartlett to just 19 second-half points and took a 76-57 victory in Bartlett.
"I told (Kevin VandenBerg) and the other seniors you've had three years, it's time," Weemer said.
Senior point guard VandenBerg scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter helping the Warriors (5-1, 1-0) kick start the second half. VandenBerg scored on Waubonsie's first possession of the second half to cut the Bartlett (2-2, 0-1) lead down to 38-31. He then grabbed a steal, ran the length of the court and made it a 5-point game.
The 6-foot guard was just 1 of 4 for 2 points in the first half, but exploded for 20 points going 8 of 11 from the floor in the second half.
"Coach told me to be more aggressive and get everyone else involved," said VandenBerg, who finished the game with 4 steals and 4 assists.
The Warriors' other seniors also increased their activity. Kyle Obendorf finished with 16 rebounds, 10 offensive, and Josh Daniels (22 points) made 7 of 8 free throws in the second half. Waubonsie shot just 3 of 9 from the foul line in the first half, but the Warriors owned a 36-18 rebounding advantage. But Vandenberg's presence was the most prevalent.
"(VandenBerg) killed us in the second half," Hawks' coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Hr's sneaky quick. He's a real good decision maker. We let him control the tempo of the game in the second half."
Despite Waubonsie's third-period resurgence, Hrynyk (19 points, 4 assists) managed to cut the lead down 56-50 with 5 minutes in the fourth quarter. On the next trip down the court sophomore Mike Banks was whistled for a foul on Daniels, argued with the official and picked up a technical foul. Daniels converted 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and the Warriors never looked back, outscoring Bartlett 21-7 in the final 3 minutes, 56 seconds.
Bartlett turned a 14-8 first-quarter deficit into a 34-26 lead with 2:11 left to play in the first half. The Hawks shot 75 percent (9 of 12) in their 25-point second quarter. Bartlett went just 37.9 percent (11 of 29) and scored 22 points in the rest of the game.