Little's 32 lead Bartlett past Glenbard North

A win may be a win, but Bartlett's boys basketball team definitely had a preferred side of the scoreboard Tuesday night.

So while an 83-69 nonconference victory over Glenbard North in Carol Stream flashed plenty of offense, the Hawks hope to see better defense down the road - especially as the playoffs approach.

"We've got to play better defense," said Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith. "There were moments when I felt like we played really good basketball, and then I thought there were moments when we played sloppy basketball."

When the dust settled, the Hawks (14-7) claimed themselves a dominant win. They never trailed, they opened a double-digit lead by early in the second quarter and they led by at least 8 points for the final 21 minutes of the game.

Senior Marc Little and junior Luke Labedzki did the bulk of the damage on offense, combining for 55 points. Little's 32 points led all scorers, a number that included 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 12-of-13 free-throw shooting.

Labedzki scored 12 of his 23 points in the third quarter, partly when Little had to sit much of the frame due to foul trouble.

"I think anybody on our team can put the ball in the hole," Little said. "We just need to start playing better defense as a team. We need to work on everything with our defense, but I think we'll be ready for the playoffs."

Bartlett is now 3-1 in games it's scored at least 80 points. Of the eight times the Hawks have allowed at least 69 points, however, this was just their second win.

Glenbard North junior James Fleming did his part in keeping the Panthers (7-14) close, tallying a team-high 24 points. His steal and basket narrowed the gap to 73-65 with 2:14 left, but the Hawks quickly answered with 6 straight points to curb the threat.

Six-foot-six Glenbard North forward Evan Watkins pitched in 16 points and 12 rebounds, scoring many of his points on putbacks. Aaron Naper added 10 points for Bartlett.

"We had some chances to cut into it with some open looks, but we just couldn't do it," said Glenbard North coach Joe Larson. "They're a good offensive team, and they were hitting some big shots to kind of put the spread back up there to 10 or 12 or 14. But I thought we played well overall."