No doubt about it as Barrington tips Streamwood

According to Barrington senior forward Ben Bartz, the Broncos did more than just win a regional championship Friday night.

They also - with a 47-45 come-from-behind victory over Streamwood - proved all the naysayers wrong.

"Everyone was doubting us," said Bartz, who came up huge in the fourth quarter with 5 rebounds and 3 crucial late points. "All we kept reading was that we couldn't do it - that even though the regional was on our home court, it was wide open and anyone could win."

Senior guard James Stack led Barrington with a game-high 17 points.

"I've been working and preparing for this for a year," said Stack.

Barrington (17-12) overcame a strong defensive effort by Streamwood. The Sabres held Broncos sharpshooters Bryan Wegner and John Schneider without a field goal in the contest,

"I was very happy with the way we played defense in the first three quarters," said Streamwood coach Tim Jones. "We were forcing turnovers, stepping into the passing lanes, and getting transition points off turnovers.

"I'm disappointed because we had them on the ropes, but they (Barrington) showed their resiliency, and we missed some shots we usually make."

Streamwood came out on fire behind the play of rugged front-line players Marcus Lewis (14 points), Derrick King (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Lorenzo Mitchell (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocked shots).

"I thought Lorenzo especially played a heck of game," said Jones of the sophomore. "He was singlehandedly trying to get to every rebound out there. He's going be a great player, and he'll be a marked man next year."

The Sabres led for most of the first three periods but got into foul trouble midway through the third, when a frenetic Barrington full-court press turned a 30-22 Streamwood lead into a 37-34 Broncos advantage going into the fourth.

"Their athleticism and quickness gave us a lot of trouble," said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker. "But once our kids calmed down and adjusted to their speed, we were able to make a run."

Down by 4 points in the final minute, Streamwood closed the gap to 46-45 when Mitchell made a twisting, driving layup with 15 seconds left.

The Sabres had a final chance when Wegner split a pair of free throws at the other end, but a Streamwood layup attempt for the tie with just a few ticks left rimmed out.

Greg Gerrard added 8 points for Barrington, as did Wegner - all from the free throw line.

Barrington finished 21-of-32 from the line while Streamwood was 4-of-13.

"That," said Jones, "was the difference."