Bartlett vs. South Elgin should be a barnburner
Packed high school gyms, overflowing parking lots and chanting student sections on a Friday in March can only mean one thing: it's boys basketball regional title night statewide for Class 4A and 3A schools.
In suburban Cook County, surprise finalists and rivals, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg, will meet with hardware on the line after each upset a higher seed in the semifinals.
In DuPage County, Wheaton Warrenville South will try to derail the potent Glenbard East express.
In Will County, neighbors Romeoville and Lockport will slug it out for a plaque.
And out in the Rockford area, NIC-10 champion Boylan will attempt to complete a 3-game sweep of second-place Hononegah, a rival the Titans have defeated twice this season.
While each regional title venue offers its own uniquely intense atmosphere, none is likely to surpass what should be a memorable evening at Bartlett, where the second-seeded Hawks host top-seeded South Elgin in the District-U-46 game of the year.
Last Friday, South Elgin (18-9) held off Bartlett (15-11) down the stretch in front of approximately 1,800 rabid fans, whose combined decibel level led Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith to say afterward the game "had a sectional feel to it."
Fans of both schools turned out to support their teams, though the only thing on the line besides local bragging rights was third place in the Upstate Eight Conference. With a regional title hanging in the balance Friday at 7:30 p.m., there won't be many open seats, if any, left in Bartlett's 3,000-seat gymnasium.
Asked what his team needed to do to in order to win its second regional title in three years, Wolfsmith's answer was succinct: "survive."
No. 2 seed Bartlett reached the title game by surviving a test from No. 3 St. Charles North on Wednesday, 40-36. South Elgin can relate: the Storm needed two overtimes to pull away from gutty Elgin, 46-40.
South Elgin is seeking the first regional title in its brief history. The Storm beat visiting Bartlett 66-62 last Friday in the regular-season finale, led by 21 points from senior guard Tommy Childs and 18 points from junior 3-point specialist Sammy Sutter. Childs averages 17.2 points per game. Sutter averages 12.4 and has connected on 76-of-183 3-pointers (41.5 percent).
"We have to make sure Childs doesn't get off on us like he did the first time," Wolfsmith said. "Tommy is a special ballplayer and finds ways to score. He's very aggressive on defense and creates turnovers that lead to layups. We have to be aware of where Sammy is on the floor because he's a special shooter.
"And we have to win the rebounding battle. I think the first time we played them they got 11 second-chance points. We have to do a better job of that."
Bartlett has its own weapons, spearheaded by senior guard Luke Labedzki (17.4 ppg.) and 6-foot-5 senior forward Larry Whitaker (10.6 ppg., 7.2 rpg.). Sutter and reserve guard Sheldon Chaney kept Labedzki under wraps throughout the first meeting, holding the Hawks' all-time leading scorer to 9 points and only 5 shot attempts. Still, Bartlett managed 62 points against a Storm defense that limits opponents to an average of 49.2 points per game.
"They've got eight guys who can score for them," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said. "Basically, we have to understand our matchups when we're in the game and realize that they have guys who can go off: (Matt) Chaltin coming off the bench, (Mike) Banks, Whitaker. Larry is the guy who gets them going by doing the little things.
"It's basically just containing that surge of points and where it comes from, but you don't know who's going to score for them."