Lake Park nabs win over Bartlett
Part II of the Bartlett-Lake Park boys basketball trilogy favored the Lancers.
The Upstate Eight Valley Division rivals — scheduled to clash for a third time in a Class 4A Lake Park regional semifinal in 11 days — can each point to a regular-season victory against the other after the Lancers prevailed 63-48 on the road Friday.
Lake Park (17-8, 8-4) avenged a 58-55 overtime loss in Roselle on Jan. 13 by holding Bartlett (13-14, 4-8) to a pair of 3-pointers. The Hawks sank nine 3-pointers in the first meeting.
“We did a better job on the perimeter guarding them,” Lake Park coach Josh Virostko said. “I think our footwork was better. We were chest up, spotting our feet and staying in front.”
Bartlett attempted only 10 3-pointers.
“We weren’t shooting with much confidence,” said Bartlett senior Matt Chaltin, who made 1 of 3 attempts from long range and scored 15 points. “We have shooters we know can hit shots. It’s just up to them to shoot with confidence. We did that the first time. Hopefully, we can turn it around in two weeks.”
Lake Park led took control with an 11-0 run to open the second quarter. Senior forward Dave Prentis came off the bench to score 8 points in the period, including a pair of 3-pointers, as Lake Park outscored Bartlett 16-8 to take a 29-18 halftime lead. Senior Domo Spencer capped the 11-0 surge with 2 of his game-high 19 points.
“They did a really good job of getting Prentis open, of getting Spencer open and getting the got the ball on the block a couple of times,” Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. “We just got late coming around picks and didn’t talk. We did a better job of that the first time we played, but they’re a better team than the first time we played.”
Bartlett lurked within striking distance throughout the second half, but the Lancers answered each time the Hawks seemed poised to make their move.
Bartlett trimmed a 13-point deficit to 7 early in the third quarter, thanks to a 4 points from Lorenzo Mitchell and a pair of free throws from Chaltin. But Spencer responded with a 3-pointer from the right corner and 6-foot-8 senior Scott Karlis sank a pair of free throws after drawing a foul on Mitchell.
Bartlett pulled within 44-34 with 5:43 left after a bank shot by Mitchell, who led the Hawks with 18 points.
Again Lake Park answered. Senior guard Nick Zanghi (6 points) got the shooter’s roll on a jump shot from the free-throw line, and he scored a layup on the ensuing possession, courtesy of an inside feed from Zach Wagner, who finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds
“That was a key point in the game when the whole team came together and we made some plays,” Zanghi said. “They were there the whole game, but we just fought them off and found a way to win.”
That’s what Virostko liked most.
“I’ve seen Bartlett come back real easily in a close game like that, so I was proud that our guys kept extending,” he said. “We’ve had battles with them before and they’ve got a lot of firepower.”
Bartlett shot 17 of 36 from the field, but the Lancers dominated the boards 29-15. Prentis had 11 points, Jeremy Caboor scored 8 points, Karlis added 7 points and 5 rebounds and senior guard Steve Wuthrich finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds for Lake Park.