Bartlett's final stop holds off CL South
One good half was just good enough Tuesday night for the Bartlett boys basketball team.
The Hawks led by as many as 12 points before needing to make one more defensive stop in the final seconds to hold on for a 49-46 nonconference victory over Crystal Lake South at Bartlett.
"I thought we did some good things for about 2 1/2 quarters," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "The end of the third and most of the fourth we were playing the game not to lose, trying to hold on to win."
Bartlett (5-2) led 16-5 after the first quarter, going 7 for 13 from the floor and forcing 9 turnovers. The Gators (3-3) went 2-of-9 in the quarter.
The Hawks increased the lead to 12 twice during the second quarter and took a 26-16 lead into halftime. Larry Whitaker had 8 points in the first half for Bartlett.
"We held them to 16 points. That's pretty good in a varsity basketball game," Wolfsmith said.
CL South shot 50 percent (5-of-10) in the second quarter, but committed 8 more turnovers.
"In the first half, I think we had too many emotional highs and lows and put ourselves in a position down 10," Gators coach Dan DeBruycker said. "Against a good basketball team in their gym, you can't do that."
Donovan Coleman's offensive putback 43 seconds into the second half again gave the Hawks a 12-point lead, 28-16. The Gators answered by going on an 8-0 run to get within 4, 28-24.
Bartlett increased its lead back to 8, 37-29, going into the fourth quarter and Matt Chaltin's third 3-pointer of the game with 4:36 remaining again gave the Hawks a 12-point advantage, 43-31. The Gators' Alex Macaulay scored 5 points to spark a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-40 with 1:50 remaining.
CL South got within 1, 47-46, on Macaulay's drive and basket with 33 seconds left. Whitaker hit 2 free throws with 25.8 for a 3-point lead, 49-46.
After the Gators got the ball back and called a timeout with 9.8 seconds left, the Hawks needed to make one more stop. Unable to get the ball to Kevin Rogers, Macauley put up a 3-point attempt from the top of the key, but it was off target as the buzzer sounded.
"We knew they weren't going to let Kevin Rogers get an open look," DeBruycker said. "We got a decent look. It's tough to get a wide-open shot in a possession like that."
Rogers led the Gators with 14 points. Ethan Breitenstein added 10.
Whitaker's 12 points paced the Hawks. Luke Labedzki and Chatlin each added 9 points.