Cleope, Partyka step up as Bartlett tops Larkin
Larkin effectively neutralized one of Bartlett's dual scoring threats, but a pair of unsung heroes grabbed the reins and helped the Hawks earn a 63-58 Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball victory in Elgin on Saturday night.
Bartlett senior guard Marc Little equaled his 22-point-per-game average despite being hounded by Larkin guard Jeff Saurbaugh. However, junior guard Luke Labedzki was limited to 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting by defender Drew Simonini, well below his 19-point average.
Juniors Frankie Cleope and Greg Partyka picked up the slack for Bartlett (11-7, 3-3) one night after the Hawks were beaten by rival Streamwood. Partyka scored 12 points in the post and Cleope came off the bench to contribute 13 points.
"Teams are looking at Marc and Luke, so we have to be aggressive coming off the bench like tonight," Cleope said. "We know everyone on our team can score. We just wanted to finish strong and pull out the victory because we played bad (Friday)."
A game that featured 7 lead changes and 3 ties stayed fittingly tight into the final minute. Larkin (6-13, 1-5) led by 4 points until Saurbaugh hit a hanging bank shot with 1:35 to play. After Bartlett missed a short baseline hook at the other end, Larkin's Terell John was fouled in the act of of shooting after he grabbed an offensive rebound.
However, John, who led Larkin in both scoring (14) and rebounds (14), couldn't connect on either free throw. "Just a couple of bad rolls, man," John said.
Little was fouled at the other end and sank both shots to re-establish a 4-point cushion with 38 seconds left.
Saurbaugh split a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to play that trimmed the deficit to 61-58, and the Royals had a chance to tie in the final seconds after Bartlett turned the ball over. Simonini attempted a 3-pointer from the corner with 10 seconds left, but the shot didn't fall and Cleope grabbed the rebound with 7.5 seconds on the clock. He was fouled and sank 2 free throws to send Larkin (6-13, 1-5) to its sixth straight defeat.
"If we make a couple of our free throws there and hit our threes, it's a different ballgame," Larkin coach Larry Hight said. "They didn't fall, but instead of being down 10 or 12 points with two minutes to go we were in it all the way. When you're in games all the way to the end, you can't be disappointed as long as the kids are busting it. And they were tonight.
"The kids are going to springboard from this game. They'll be ready for Elgin on Tuesday."
The win gave Bartlett a 3-4 record in January and left the Hawks feeling upbeat.
"It helps to get Greg Partyka working down low for points and Frankie Cleope coming off the bench for points," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Kevin Gates (6 points) had a nice start to the game for us and hit a couple of early shots.
"When this team gets in one of those rhythms, we can get back to the team that's averaging 68 points a game. Somewhere in there is a team that can hold teams to 38-, 39-percent field-goal shooting and at the same time score 65-70 points a game. If we find that team at the right time, we'll make a run in the playoffs."