Prairie Ridge breaks down Bartlett

Here's a breakdown of how Bartlett broke down in 71-64 loss to Prairie Ridge in its pool play opener at the 18th Annual Jacobs Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, courtesy of the Hawks' head coach.

"We weren't defending," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "PR did a great job of moving the ball around, sharing the ball, they cut hard, they cut off picks hard, they went back door at the right times. They ran their stuff offensively, and we struggled to get into a defensive rhythm. It's that simple."

Chad Ljunggren scored 29 points to lead Prairie Ridge (6-3). His biggest shot was a 3-pointer from the corner that snapped a 60-60 tie with 1:11 left.

That play began with the Wolves inbounding to senior Bryan Bradshaw (14 points), who dribbled to the baseline and drew Ljunggren's defender to him before dishing the ball to the corner. "I just got a good look and it went in," Ljunggren said.

Bartlett point guard Marc Little's 3-point attempt at the other end missed, and Little fouled out of the game trying to stop Bradshaw's drive at the other end. That concluded a frustrating morning of stops and starts for Little (17 points), who didn't enter the game until five minutes had elapsed. He also missed the bulk of the third quarter with foul trouble.

"We played down to our competition," Little said. "We should have killed that team. We didn't play hard. We didn't play as a team. It was like everyone wanted to play individual, and that's not going to help. What helps us win games is when we win as a team."

Bradshaw sank both free throws to give Prairie Ridge a 65-60 lead with 49 seconds remaining. Mike Banks responded with a length-of-the-court drive for a left-handed layup, but Bradshaw was fouled and sank both free throws to restore the 5-point lead.

Again Banks drove for a layup to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 8.9 seconds left, but Bradshaw again sank 2 free throws with 6.9 seconds to play.

"Last year we came over here and we didn't play as well as we thought we could," Bradshaw said. "We talked about competing. That was our main focus. We had five days of practice to get ready and it carried over. We played well together, we played with heart and we were able to hold them off in the end."

With Little on the bench to start the game - "I'm not going to comment on that," Wolfsmith said - the Wolves jumped to a 13-7 lead behind 5 points from Ljunggren, 4 points by Kevin Kaczmarski and a basket by Ben Rippel (13 points).

Little entered the game and scored on a drive and a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 13. But not even 25 points from Luke Labedzki, who sank four 3-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws, could stave off the Wolves. Prairie Ridge outscored Bartlett 22-18 in the second quarter with buckets from seven different players.

The Hawks took their first lead since the first quarter with 3:41 left in the third period when Frankie Cleope's 3-pointer gave them a 44-41 advantage. But 2 baskets by Rippel started a 9-0 Prairie Ridge run that put the Wolves ahead 50-44 early in the fourth quarter.

Both teams resume pool play on Monday. Prairie Ridge will play St. Edward (4-4) at noon. Bartlett will face Cary-Grove (6-2) at 1:30 p.m.