Barrington rallies to beat Jacobs
Luck be a Bronco tonight.
Luck and a little defense. With all else failing Tuesday afternoon for Barrington, from the shooting touch that abandoned it to the rebounding that virtually disappeared, the Broncos had little else to fall back on.
But 30 seconds, a 3-pointer by Scott Nelson, a layin off a turnover by Jackson Wegner and two free throws from Mark Bennett, all of which added up to the final 7 points of the game, gave the Broncos an almost inconceivable 55-54 come-from-behind win over Jacobs in the conclusion of pool play at the Jacobs Holiday Classic in Algonquin.
All of that action came off turnovers forced by vice-like defensive pressure that enabled the Broncos (9-4) to overcome their own game-long deficiencies that clearly had them reeling toward a defeat that would’ve placed them in the group of third-place finishers in the tournament’s final two days on Thursday and Friday.
Now they’ll get to play for a spot as high as fifth overall in the second-place pool when they face Cary-Grove at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
“Luck,” joked Barrington head coach Bryan Tucker, clearly as astounded by the finish as every onlooker in the gym. He recognized his team’s aforementioned shortcomings but also knew how they won. And it wasn’t a four-letter word.
“Defense was the key,” he acknowledged, after forcing 24 turnovers out of the Golden Eagles (1-7), including 3 key ones for 7 points down the stretch. “We thought our pressure was hurting them.”
That and a series of substitutions that gave the Broncos some odd combinations on the court, but they clicked. Robbie Vollman, Ryan Carroll, Vinnie Tuzil and Taylor Ganzer combined for 23 points while shuffling in among the starters. Their energy, with usual leading scorers Brad Zaumseil and Bennett sitting (9 apiece along with Wegner), clearly sparked the Broncos.
“We have confidence in them,” said Tucker.
“We had some guys come in and play some good minutes,” said Zaumseil, whose fourth-quarter 3, driving basket and 2-point jumper were critical.
But until those final 30 seconds, the game appeared over in favor of a Jacobs team avenging a one-sided loss to Barrington last week. Junior towers of power Nick Ledinsky (26 points) and Will Schwerdtmann (14) dominated at both ends with their height, rebounding and sweet shooting touches. With point men Patrick Nerja (another junior) and Brad Cleveland running the show, it was all but over. Until…
“Turnovers,” said Eagles coach Jim Hinkle. “What are you going to do? We did a lot of good things. I was really happy with most of the aspects of the game.”
Especially the third quarter when the Eagles scored the first 9 points and eventually turned a 27-22 halftime deficit into a 38-31 lead, holding Barrington to no field goals in the quarter.
Barrington plays again at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against the second-place finisher out of the Mundelein/Crystal Lake Central/Crystal Lake South/Cary-Grove pool. Tough-luck Jacobs meets Crystal Lake South at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.