Balanced Bartlett scores win

Bartlett showed no fear of the unknown when it scored the first 10 points against Lindblom on Saturday.

But the Hawks knew it wasn't as easy as their 74-51 victory might seem in their Jacobs Golden Eagle Classic boys basketball tournament opener in Algonquin.

"The score doesn't say anything," said Bartlett 6-foot-9 senior center Kamil Janton. "They're a good team, especially on defense. They put some pressure on us."

Lindblom (6-5) was able to get within 20-19 with 5:30 left in the first half.

But Bartlett (7-3) was able to start distancing itself from its Chicago Public League counterparts in the second half en route to its fifth consecutive victory.

"A team like that always scares you because they're so athletic and so unknown," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith of not having a chance to scout Lindblom. "We were able to hand their pressure and get the ball to the big guys to score."

The Eastern Michigan-bound Janton scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds against a Lindblom team with its tallest regular at 6-1. Sophomore guard Luke Labedzki had 9 of his 15 en route to a 34-26 halftime lead.

And Bartlett's balance extended to 6-5 Cory Hrynyk (12 points), 6-3 Marcell Randell (11 points) and 6-4 Mike Selvaggi (9 points).

"We played some great team basketball and everyone contributed on the floor," Janton said.

Which allowed Bartlett to answer when Lindblom played a box-and-1 on Hrynyk or tried to double-team Janton down low.

"We preach balance and preach finding weaknesses (in the defense)," Wolfsmith said. "We've got a lot of weapons and we have to be able to use them."

Lindblom did hang around within 59-47 with 5:50 to play behind guards Sedric Ferguson (16 points) and Dan Jackson (17 points).

But Bartlett finished it off with a 15-4 finish.

"We played our game, offensively especially," Janton said. "On defense we could have played a little better.

Mundelein 68, Crystal Lake South 51: At the Jacobs Golden Eagle Classic, Crystal Lake South (4-4) fell to Mundelein. Wesley Evans led the Gators with 23 points and Zack Carpenter added 8 points.

Prairie Ridge 66, Marian Central 49: Mike Ungari led PR with 20 as the Wolves (2-9) won this Golden Eagle Classic opener. Ben Rippel contributed with 13 points while teammate Jeff Simak added 8 for the Wolves.