Late basket lifts Bartlett over Willowbrook

By his own admission Luke Labedzki's attempted game-winning shot didn't feel right coming out of his hand.

With his Bartlett Hawks trailing Willowbrook 70-69 with 10 seconds remaining in the game, Labedzki received Donovan Coleman's inbound pass, attacked the baseline to his right and lofted up a spinning teardrop.

It may not have felt as good as his previous seven field goals exiting his hand, but there's no doubt No. 8 was the sweetest. The shot bounced up off the rim and through the net, completing Bartlett's fourth-quarter comeback and clinching its 72-70 nonconference victory Wednesday night in Villa Park.

"It actually felt a little bit off, but those rims are weird," Labedzki said. "When it went in I was happy as anything."

So too were his fellow Hawks. Bartlett climbed back from a 56-44 fourth-quarter deficit to improve its record to 3-2 on the year.

The Hawks trailed 67-60 with 1:52 in the fourth quarter and fell behind 70-67 after a pair of Eric Miller free throws with 39 seconds to go.

Coleman answered Miller's free throws with a pair of his own to bring Bartlett within a point, and a subsequent Willowbrook turnover with 18 seconds remaining set the stage for Labedzki's game-winner.

If it wasn't for a renewed commitment to defense, though, Labedzki's floater would have been just another meaningless basket. The Hawks forced three critical fourth-quarter turnovers and limited Willowbrook to just 16 points after allowing 25 in the previous period.

"We talked about sacrificing for your team," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Sacrifice means you may not get the steal, but if you're in the right position, it's going to make the other team's job harder getting the ball up the floor."

After sitting out most of the first half with foul trouble, Bartlett forward Larry Whitaker redeemed himself with 10 fourth-quarter points while anchoring the point position in the Hawks' full-court press.

"Larry is a special player," Wolfsmith said. "He's long and athletic, and he causes other teams trouble because of that."

Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato understands the growing pains that come with coaching a young team like the Warriors, with Wednesday serving as the latest example. Five missed free throws in the final quarter and the critical late-game turnover, though, are all instances from which Willowbrook (3-4) can grow.

"We didn't handle pressure very well," Lavorato said. "In tight games you've got to make free throws - we just panicked a little bit."

Willowbrook senior Eric Miller led all scorers with 31 points, shooting 7 of 9 from 3-point range.