Bolger points way for Schaumburg
Kyle Bolger is finding the right balance between scoring his points and running the point for Schaumburg.
The junior displayed it again in Tuesday night's Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover at Hersey. Bolger scored 9 of his 13 points in the first half and had 3 second-half assists as the Saxons won 55-44 at Ken Carter Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.
And Bolger passed the credit along the way a good point guard should as Christian Spandiary and Jimmy Lundquist led Schaumburg (10-4) with 17 points apiece.
"My teammates help out a lot with everything," Bolger said after scoring in double figures for the fifth straight game. "Whether I'm at point guard or shooting guard, we feel comfortable with each other and that helps a lot."
Bolger capped an 8-point first quarter and gave Schaumburg a 16-12 lead when he hit a runner from midcourt at the buzzer. He finished 4-for-6 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and had 5 rebounds.
Bolger averaged 8.5 points in the Saxons' first nine games but is at 14.2 in the last five.
"Kyle is a great talent and he's easily one of the top players in the area," said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. "I think he's really been playing his best ball since the (Hinsdale South) tourney and it carried over to tonight again.
"He's a great defensive player, he's capable of scoring and putting up big numbers and he's doing a great job of really doing all the little things to help our team be successful."
Hersey (6-8) was also looking to continue the success it had in winning the consolation championship in the Pekin Holiday Tournament. A short jump hook by Justin Jobski (13 points, 5 rebounds) cut the deficit to 34-28 with 2:09 left in the third quarter.
But the Huskies couldn't capitalize on 2 of Schaumburg's 20 turnovers and 2 missed free throws.
The Saxons started a 10-point run on a steal and layup by Joey Faleni. Spandiary drew a charge and reserve point guard Thomas Byrne found Lundquist for a layup to end the third and a 3-point play to start the fourth.
Byrne had 3 assists as Schaumburg was 11-for-16 from the field in the second half to finish at 54 percent (20-for-37).
"I thought we had great point guard play by both Kyle and Thomas," Walsh said.
Sean Reszotko added 11 points and hit three 3s and Stefan Vucicevic scored 10 points for the Huskies. They committed 21 turnovers which were converted into 23 points by Schaumburg.
"I thought our half-court defense was probably as good as it's been and we know it's a against a real good team," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "Without some of the bad offense that team is in the 40s rather than the 50s.
"And in the middle of the game we were getting shots as good as we've gotten all year against a team that plays good defense."