Too much Richmond, Waukegan for Bartlett
Since the final buzzer sounded in the Class 4A championship game last season the Waukegan boys basketball team set its goal of getting back to Peoria and winning the title.
The Bulldogs earned their trip back to Carver Arena and a spot in the semifinals with a 75-61 victory over Bartlett in the Elgin supersectional Tuesday night at Chesbrough Field House.
"We worked so hard at practice every day for one goal and that is to win state this year," Waukegan senior and Illinois-bound All-American Jereme Richmond said. "We were there last year and to lose by such a slim margin kind of left a bad taste in our mouth."
Waukegan (26-4) will get a chance at a little redemption against Whitney Young, which beat the Bulldogs 69-66 in the title game last season. The Bulldogs and the Dolphins will play at 8:15 p.m. Friday in the second semifinal.
"Who ever we're going to play in the next game, we'll be ready," Waukegan senior guard Mike Springs said. "We'll go and practice hard regardless of who we're going to play."
The loss ends Bartlett's best season ever. The Hawks (18-12) won their first sectional title, but couldn't earn their first trip downstate. Bartlett, which was a No. 2 regional seed, was an underdog in every postseason game except for its first one.
"We want to be remembered," said Bartlett senior Luke Labedzki, the Hawks' all-time leading scorer who scored 25 points in his final Bartlett game. "Right now, we're the best team in Bartlett history. That feels good. Wish we could have went further. It just didn't happen."
The Hawks took an early 5-1 lead after a 3-point play from Femi Oyewole and an offensive rebound and putback by Larry Whitaker, who finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds.
But Waukegan's pressure defense forced the Hawks into 9 first-quarter turnovers, eight coming in the final 5 minutes. The Bulldogs took advantage by going on a 13-2 run to take a 16-7 lead. Whitaker hit a 3-pointer from just inside half-court line at the buzzer to cut the Hawks' deficit to 16-10 going into the second.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as 14 on four occasions in the second quarter and led 36-25 at halftime.
"One of the things that kill you with a team like Waukegan is that they can go 7-0, 8-0, 9-0 runs in a heartbeat," Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We gave up too many runs."
Bartlett got within 7, 39-32, with 5:33 left in the third quarter on a Whitaker basket in the paint over Richmond. The Hawks trailed 44-36 when Richmond, who scored only 4 first-half points, showed why he is a McDonald's All-American. The Illinois signee scored on five consecutive Waukegan possessions, hitting everything from two 3-pointers to a step-back jumper to backing in inside for an easy basket.
"My teammates did a good job of finding me, getting me the ball in the right spots," said Richmond, who finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks.
The Bulldogs' biggest lead was 21 points, with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Hawks got within 10, 71-61, after a Labedzki 3-pointer with a minute remaining, but did not score again.
"(Bartlett) is a scrappy group," Bulldogs coach Ron Ashlaw said. "They came in confident. They were playing with a looseness. They were among the last eight teams going. They are a pretty good basketball team."
Akeem Springs had 17 points for the Bulldogs. Quan Connor added 13 points and nine rebounds. Aaron Johnson had 10 points and Mike Springs had 9.