Fantastic finish for battling Bartlett
ROCKFORD - As a story of overcoming adversity, even Hollywood might not buy it.
Trailing by 3 points in front of a hostile crowd with its big man fouled out and three other starters with 4 fouls, Bartlett found a way to win.
Frankie Cleope made 2 free throws with 32 seconds left in overtime and added another for insurance with five seconds to go, giving the Hawks a 59-57 victory against the host Titans and the championship of the Class 4A Boylan sectional in Rockford.
After stealing the trophy from the Titans (25-5) on their home floor, the Hawks return home, playing Waukegan in the Elgin supersectional Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
In large part, the Hawks didn't lose because Luke Labedzki wouldn't let them.
When their big men started accumulating fouls in the first half, Labedzki took over. He scored 12 of his 20 points in the second quarter, including a running 35-footer at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 33-30 lead at the break.
Boylan went ahead early in overtime and led 57-54 with a minute to play. Then Mike Banks put back his own miss for the only field goal of overtime, making it a 1-point game. After Boylan's Kieran Jansen missed 2 free throws, Cleope got fouled and made them both.
After Chris Miller missed a shot for Boylan, Cleope made 1 more for the final margin. Boylan only had time for Miller's wild shot at the buzzer.
"It was hectic," said Cleope. "I tried not to let it get to my head. I tried to take it slow and just knock everybody out."
But Labedzki was hardly the only contributor Cleope finished with 10 points, Donovan Coleman had 7 points off the bench, Larry Whitaker had 10 rebounds and Banks finished with 6 points and 6 boards.
"We just played as a team," said Labedzki.
"We were strong, we got the loose balls, we got the rebounds. That's what we need."
Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith echoed that theme.
"It's ice water," Wolfsmith said. "These kids want the ball, they want the shot, they want the free throws. We practice sharing the ball, so we don't have one star. We all want to take the shot, we all want to move the ball and make the pass. Anyone can be the hero."
Bartlett (18-11) shot 59 percent in the first half, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, a stark contrast to Wednesday's semifinal, when they were 0-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half. Five different Hawks hit 3s.
"We had some atoning to do for our shooting performance on Wednesday," said Wolfsmith.
Miller finished with 20 points for Boylan. Armani Flannigan had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Six-foot-7 Nick Bauch had 8 points before fouling out with two minutes left in regulation.
For the second straight game, Bartlett's free-throw defense was key. Boylan made just 12 of 26 free throws, including only 2 of 7 in the fourth quarter. Flannigan missed his first 7 attempts before making 2 to put the Titans ahead in the extra period.
Bartlett led 52-50 after Banks' 2 free throws with 2:01 left in regulation, but Miller's steal and driving layup tied it and forced the extra period.
With Boylan's record and its size (three starters 6-4 or bigger), plus playing on its home court, the Hawks knew they were the underdogs.
But they always believed they could pull it off.
"I always like to think positive, so I did have a slight feeling that we were," said Banks. "I was hoping that we could pull it out and we did."