Bartlett 62, South Elgin 43
Bartlett boys basketball coach Jim Wolfsmith's message to point guard Marc Little was simple.
"He pulled me aside and told me to stop playing with them," Little said.
Little drove the lane twice in the Hawks' first 3 fourth-quarter possession and kicked off a 19-3 run to close out Bartlett's 62-43 victory at South Elgin in the season and Upstate Eight Conference finale for both teams.
Little finished with 8 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, but his dominating guard play allowed Bartlett (19-7, 7-3) to run away with what was a 43-38 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Little started the game 3 of 8 from the floor in the first half, but went 4 of 5 from the in the second half.
"I felt it a little," said Little, who added 4 assists and 3 steals. "He kept calling the play for me and I kept hitting it. You have to have that swagger."
Little's swagger was much needed. Bartlett was playing without Eastern Michigan-bound center Kamil Janton, who was forced to watch in street clothes after picking up a pair of technical fouls in the Hawks' 91-87 overtime victory over Willowbrook. An IHSA rule, which Janton had been benched for earlier in the season, automatically benched Janton against the Storm, which was Bartlett's next game.
Without the big man in the paint, South Elgin senior Stephen Carter had a career night. Celebrating the Storm's first boys basketball senior night, Carter, who was averaging 2.5 points per game, went off scoring a team-high 15. The senior added 12 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end.
"Coach told me to crash the boards every time," said Carter, who was making his second career start. "It was senior night and I was just trying to help out the team."
Carter's biggest help came when he brought the Storm (12-14, 3-7) to within 43-40 after scoring on South Elgin's opening possession of the fourth quarter. South Elgin would make just 1 of its next final 13 shots and missed its final 10 attempts. Carter was 7 of 12 from the floor in the loss.
Carter made it a 43-38 game when he got an offensive tip in on a Josh Glenn miss as time expired in the third quarter.
"Carter had a great game," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said. "He finished off with a great senior night."
Glenn made three 3-pointers in the first half, but was 0 of 6 from long range in the second half. The Storm finished the game going 29 percent (18 of 62). Taking the Storm out of sync was exactly what Bartlett wanted on defense.
"Glenn is one of the best shooters in the conference and he didn't get any rhythm shots," Wolfsmith said. "They couldn't get in that flow."
Cory Hrynyk added 14 points in the victory for the Hawks.