To Darrow's dismay, Libertyville bounces Broncos

Much more often than not, the basketball has bounced as it did this time for Barrington.

Mack Darrow could no longer hide his disappointment.

So after his team lost for the 21st time, after his shot in the lane rolled off the rim, coming within a couple of inches of being a game-winner, the Broncos' 6-foot-8 senior collapsed on Libertyville's court in agony.

As the host Wildcats celebrated a 38-37 nonconference win on Senior Day, Darrow eventually picked himself up and took a seat on the bench, where he sat dejectedly, alone, for several minutes.

"Just a summation (of the season)," said Darrow, who posted game highs of 14 points and 9 rebounds. "I feel bad. I try not to let that show, but this one eats you a little bit."

"I have to give him credit," said Libertyville's 6-5 Jeremy Letchford, who battled Darrow all game and finished with just 4 points and 5 rebounds, well below his averages. "For a not-so-hot team, it seems he's got to carry them a lot."

While coach Marty Dello says his Barrington squad has played better the second half of the season, despite a 5-21 record, the Broncos were understandably frustrated that they didn't leave Libertyville with a win Saturday.

After John Colao canned his second straight 3-pointer and fourth of the game with 6:26 left in the fourth quarter, Libertyville (9-16) didn't score again.

Barrington pulled within 38-36 on a baseline bucket by Tommy Masimino (11 points) and then 38-37 on a free throw by Cam Good with 3:15 to go.

That was it for the scoring.

"Both teams were changing defenses and they really disrupted the rhythm of the other team," Dello said. "They were playing that 1-3-1 (zone) and then going to a little bit man, and we were playing our matchup and then a little bit of man. Then they were trapping and not trapping, and we were doing the same thing."

It finally came down to Darrow inbounding the ball at midcourt with 9.3 seconds left. He got the ball back, dribbled into the lane and muscled up an off-balance shot. When the ball rolled off the rim, Letchford grabbed it as time expired.

"We want the ball in Mack's hands," said Dello, whose Broncos also got 9 points from reserve Kyle O'Keefe on three 3-pointers. "If I had to redraw that up, I'd do it the same way."

"It's been a long season," said Darrow, whose 8 points in the third had Barrington up 32-30 going into the fourth. "You want to build going into the playoffs and I think we had every opportunity to do that today. Our shots didn't fall at the end. I really thought we played well in the second half."

Colao was Libertyville's only player in double figures, as he scored all of his 12 points on 3s. Josh Trees added 8.

And While Libertyville snapped a three-game losing streak and honored eight seniors with large individual banners featuring each player's last name and jersey number, the Wildcats hardly went overboard in their celebration.

"That's really not a satisfying game," Letchford said. "None of us in (the locker room) were cheering or anything. The only plus we saw in it was just our defense."