Barrington beats Schaumburg to continue perfect start

Somebody forgot to tell Barrington this was a rebuilding year.

Barrington, which was third in the state in Class 4A last year, lost its first seven players to graduation. Despite that, the Broncos have been unbeatable this season.

The Broncos are surprising everyone except themselves as they knocked off Schaumburg 53-39 Friday.

"Obviously we feel real fortunate to be where we are," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "This guys in there understand we have a lot of work to do. When we graduated so much and we really didn't return that much experience we understood there would be some growing pains. The great thing about this whole group is that they came in and worked hard."

Dillion Schmidt, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, said that he and his teammates believe in each other.

"We talked a lot as a team before the season," said Schmidt, who is a senior. "We knew that a lot of people didn't think we would be here right now. Everyone of our guys had the expectation that we would succeed. And we work hard and continue to win games."

Donovan Nichols, who did play at times last season, said playing last season got him ready for this year.

"It has really helped a lot," said Nichols, who finished with 15 points. "We have been working together since this summer. Our team defense has been coming together."

Barrington (8-0, 3-0) got off to a very fast start.

Led by Nichols and Schmidt, the Broncos knocked down their first six field goals. But Barrington turned the ball over four times during that span and led 12-9.

Schaumburg (3-6, 1-2) was able to stay close early thanks to the shooting of Javonte McCoy and Jordan Tunis.

Leading 12-11 late in the first quarter, Barrington then found a way to eliminate the turnovers. They also put the clamps on Schaumburg's offense. The result was a 9-0 spurt which saw the Broncos spread the court and get some offense from Alec Schmidts and Jake Feightner.

"This group is really unselfish," Tucker said. "They are a fun group. They love to play together. As a coach, you get that."

Barrington struggled in the third quarter, hitting just two of their first 10 shots. But a basket by Schmidts gave them a 39-26 advantage.

Schaumburg did rally in the final period. The Saxons closed to 43-35 on a 3-pointer by Michael Tancredi with 4:17 to play.

Schaumburg then forced a turnover and had an opportunity to get even closer. But they missed a 3-pointer and then had the ball stolen. Barrington's Nick Peipert (8 points) went in for an uncontested layup to put the game away.

"That has been the story so far," Schaumburg coach Jason Tucker said. "We have had some mental lapses in some quarters. A quarter here and quarter there and that will kind of bury us. I am just proud how we battled in the second half."

The victory gave Bryan Tucker a win over first-year Schaumburg coach Jason Tucker. They are not related.