Can Bartlett prevail on Boylan's home court?
Minutes after Bartlett knocked off Rockford Jefferson 58-54 on Wednesday to advance to tonight's Class 4A Boylan sectional title game against the host Titans at 7:30 p.m., Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith rattled off reasons why Boylan presents a stiff challenge.
"They're huge," Wolfsmith said. "They're home. We're the underdogs. They have what, 4 losses? They're big. They're athletic. They can shoot the ball. They have an inside-outside game. They're deep."
The list ended there. The warranted apprehension did not.
Boylan (25-4), champion of the NIC-10 Conference, advanced to tonight's sectional title game by downing Barrington 54-52 in Tuesday's semifinal. The Titans are 16-2 in the cozy confines of their home gym this season. Their only home losses came late in the season against Homewood-Flossmoor, which will compete tonight for a sectional title tonight on its home court, and Freeport, which lost to DeKalb Wednesday in a Class 3A sectional semifinal.
How much of an advantage is it for Boylan to play sectional games on its familiar hardwood?
"Well, it was a 2-point advantage on Tuesday," Boylan coach Steve Goers said. "In reality, I think there are many times where mentally you have a higher edge when you're on the road than when you're at home. Sometimes when you're at home you get into a comfort zone, where on the road you need to have a real mental sharp edge to compete. We want the same type of edge at home. At the same time, some kids unconsciously might get in that comfort zone, and that's something we have to watch against.
"We're going to have a great crowd. The place wasn't filled (for the Bartlett-Jefferson game) at all, but (tonight) it's going to be packed. Boylan nation will be there, that's for sure."
Big crowds don't normally faze the battle-tested Hawks.
"I've got seven seniors on the team, and three of them played on our sectional final team two years ago," Wolfsmith said. "We play a really tough schedule, so we're used to that atmosphere and that crowd."
Bartlett (17-11) struggled to gain a consistent shooting touch from the perimeter Wednesday, finishing 2 of 18 from 3-point range. Senior guard Mike Banks took matters into his own hands by slicing through Jefferson's zone defense with repeated drives to the basket en route to a game-high 22 points.
"They're fearless," Goers said of Banks and the Hawks. "They attack the basket. They're athletic and they play pressure defense. Anybody who plays them is going to have to take care of the ball and negate their physical play by the basket."
Drives to the hoop won't come as easily against the Titans, who possess the ability to negate penetration. Boylan enjoys a decided height advantage in this matchup with 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Austin Angel (11.8 ppg.), 6-6 junior forward Armani Flannigan (10.8 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) and 6-7 senior forward Nick Bauch (12.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg.).
Bartlett counters with 6-5 senior forward Larry Whitaker, who scored 9 points and grabbed 7 rebounds against Jefferson and scored the go-ahead basket with 36 seconds left, and 6-6 junior Femi Oyewole, who has started throughout the playoffs.
"I would imagine we're going to see some zone, some passive man-to-man, and they're not going to open up lanes for us to drive," Wolfsmith theorized. "So we're going to have to find a way to work the ball and get good shots."
Flannigan scored the winning layup for Boylan in the waning seconds against Barrington, a game in which Bauch contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. Guards Chris Miller, Michael Morman and Steve Thomas and reserve forwards Jason Painter (6-5) and Kieran Jansen (6-3) fortify Boylan with eight players who have each started multiple games over two seasons and have scored at least 19 points once in their careers, according to Goers, who called his team "balanced."
Bartlett is seeking its first sectional title. The Hawks lost sectional championship games to St. Charles East in 2001 and Neuqua Valley in 2008.
The Titans, eight-time state finals qualifiers, are vying for Boylan's 18th sectional championship and first since 2007.