Barrington turns back Jacobs
In the end, time finally ran out on Jacobs’ furious comeback effort.
Trailing by 19 in the second quarter, the Golden Eagles climbed to within a point with 3:55 remaining but couldn’t close the deal as Barrington escaped with a 55-52 nonconference boys basketball win over Jacobs in Barrington on Saturday night.
“You can’t have a feeling-out process against a team like Barrington,” said Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts. “You have to be ready from the get-go and be able compete hard for 4 quarters. I like our comeback and our toughness. We had a lot of positives. It is a process and I think we can still be a very good basketball team.”
Jacobs (5-6) led early 5-2 after a conventional 3-pointer from Chris Orange with only 1 minute and 33 seconds elapsed in the game.
But the Broncos bounced back and ended the first quarter on a 17-2 run to lead 19-7 after eight minutes.
Barrington sophomore center Rapolas Ivanauskas led the pivotal surge with 8 points, including a 3-pointer.
Barrington’s biggest lead was 19 points, at 30-11 on a 5-footer in the lane by West McDonald with 1:33 left in the half.
Jacobs kept whittling away at the Barrington lead, and eventually got to within a point 46-45 on a putback by freshman Cam Krutwig halfway through the fourth quarter — but couldn’t get any closer.
Jacobs didn’t have a defensive answer for Ivanauskas, who scored 24 points with four 3’s. He also grabbed 12 rebounds with 4 assists and 4 blocked shots.
“That was probably Rapolas’ best varsity game overall,” said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker. “He hit some big 3’s, made some tough shots and made some great passes. He was certainly a difference-maker tonight.”
Roberts was impressed with Barrington’s young center.
“We scouted him at our Christmas tournament and he played well,” said Roberts. “He didn’t shoot the ball like he did tonight. We pressured him on the 3-point shots and he still made them. He is a very good young player who played a great game.”
Barrington senior guard Austin Madrzyk scored 15 points (with a 3) and made 4 clutch free throws in the final minute.
Kenton Mack paced the Golden Eagles with 13 points, which included a 3. Orange, with 2 conventional 3-point plays, scored 11 points, including 5 in the fourth quarter. The junior guard also dished out 5 assists and had 4 steals.