Bartlett hangs on, will meet South Elgin for title
Bartlett center Larry Whitaker might not be the most physically imposing center out there.
But he sure looked like it after not allowing St. Charles North to get any inside offense going in Bartlett's 40-36 win in a regional semifinal of the Class 4A Bartlett regional Wednesday night.
North (16-12) missed 8 shots in the paint in the fourth quarter, did not score for 6 minutes, 44 seconds and finished with just 5 points as Bartlett (15-11) hung on for the win.
The Hawks advance to Friday's regional championship game against South Elgin (18-9), which defeated Bartlett 66-62 in the final game of the regular season last Friday at South Elgin
"We knew the kind of game it was going to be," Hawks' coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We're undersized. We're not big, but Larry Whitaker plays big."
Although Whitaker was praised for his defensive effort, it was on the offensive glass where he gave Bartlett a huge momentum swing going into the fourth quarter.
The North Stars had come within 34-31 when Josh Mikes scored an inside basket with 1:12 left in the third quarter. Bartlett turned the ball over on the next trip down the floor, setting up a potential game-tying shot for North. Hawks senior Luke Labedzki (13 points) stole the ball and sprinted down the floor to convert a layup in the closing second of the third period.
He missed, but Whitaker quickly found the offensive rebound and tapped it back in as time expired, giving the Hawks a 36-31 lead going into the fourth quarter.
After that, North missed its first 8 shots of the final period.
"It was all about position," said Whitaker, who finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks. "We knew they were bigger than us. Going up strong, we've been practicing that for weeks."
After scoring 17 total points in the first half, North outscored Bartlett 14-13 in the third quarter, with 10 points coming inside the paint.
"We were a little unlucky," North coach Tom Poulin said of his team's fourth quarter. "We had a lot of balls rim out and roll out."
Bartlett took a 23-17 lead at halftime with Mike Banks connecting on all 4 of his 3-point attempts in the first half. Banks' most dramatic perimeter shot came as he drilled a 3-pointer as time expired to put the Hawks up 23-17. Earlier, with Bartlett ahead 13-11, he extended the Hawks' lead to 16-11 on their opening possession of the period.
Wolfsmith said North changed its defensive effort on Banks in the second half. The senior did not attempt a shot until the game's final minutes. In the first half, Bartlett was 5 of 9 as a team from long range, while the Hawks shot a collective 1 of 5 in the second half.
David Johnson led the North Stars with 8 points.