Bartlett's Little beats Waubonsie at the buzzer

Five seconds can seem like a very long time. Just ask Waubonsie Valley's boys basketball team.

Or better yet, ask Marc Little. That's how long the Bartlett senior guard had to dribble up court and get off the game-winner from just inside the midcourt line.

Little's shot touched nothing but net as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Hawks a 55-53 win in the Upstate Eight Conference opener for both teams Friday night in Aurora.

"The goal was to get Marc the ball," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "You hope that plays come off the way you design them, and this one did."

Jelani Johnson had just given the Warriors a 53-52 lead by hitting the first of two free throws. But when Johnson's second attempt rattled out, Bartlett's Larry Whitaker came down with the ball and set the final play in motion.

"It seemed really slow because I got up the court so fast," Little said. "I told my teammates that we just had to keep playing hard."

The Hawks (2-2) had two other opportunities to take the lead in the final minute after Little tied the game at 52-52 with 1:25 left.

"At that point it was a game of give and take with two good teams trying to get a shot off," Wolfsmith said.

It was an exciting conclusion to a game that was somewhat less than thrilling at the outset.

For two quarters Waubonsie Valley and Bartlett each struggled to get into any sort of a flow on offense. The Warriors did not score in the opening three minutes of the game and didn't do much better at the start of the second quarter.

"We need for some of our players to step up, take better care of the basketball and be more consistent," Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer said.

Despite committing 9 turnovers in the second quarter, Waubonsie Valley took a 23-19 lead into the break.

The Warriors (2-3) opened their largest lead of the game, 26-19, in the first minute of the second half, after Johnson turned a steal into a three-point play.

But Little's aggressive effort at both ends sparked a 6-0 run that put the Hawks back on top.

Jonny Strauss, who led the Warriors with 16 points, responded by hitting a pair of threes to keep the Warriors in the game.

Little led all scorers with 20. Luke Labedzki scored 12 for Bartlett.