Stevenson’s big run in OT knocks out top-seeded Barrington
Stevenson had its own tornado Tuesday night in the Class 4A sectional semifinal at Elgin.
The Patriots had overcome a 55-minute delay for a tornado warning but were then able to spin their way to a 14-2 run in overtime to eliminate top-seeded Barrington 64-55.
Stevenson (23-8), which is the fourth seed, will meet the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Palatine and Lake Zurich for the championship Friday.
The Patriots needed to regroup in OT after allowing Barrington to rally from a seven-point deficit in the final quarter.
“I think our kids did a great job,” said Stevenson coach Will Benson, whose team had to play without Aidan Bardic who had fouled out.
“I told them to remember how we got here. It is a four minute game and it is possession by possession.”
Stevenson made the most of its first possession in overtime.
Armand Brown got an offensive rebound and scored on a putback. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw. Kelvin Clement rebounded and got the ball to Jack Dabbs, who followed with another basket to put Stevenson up for good at 54-50.
“When it went to overtime it was next guy ,” said Dabbs, who finished with 14 points.
“The crowd was getting into it and they had most of the momentum. But all the teammates trusted each other.”
After Barrington’s Oliver Gray converted a pair of free throws to make it 54-52, it was all Stevenson. The Patriots ran off 10 unanswered points to finally put the game away.
“We missed some free throws going into overtime,” said Rocco Pagliocca, who finished with 12 points. “We came in, ready to go in overtime and we were able to convert some second chance plays.”
Stevenson used a smothering man-to-man defense to limit Barrington during the first three quarters. It appeared the Patriots would pull when they led 33-24 with 2:08 left in the third on a basket by Dabbs.
But Barrington slowly chipped away.
The Broncos cut the lead to 44-41 on a basket by Nick Peipert with 3:18 to play.
Stevenson had an opportunity to pull away again, but the Patriots missed some key free throws.
Peipert would then knock down six free throws in the final 1:12, including a pair with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 50-50.
The game was halted with just 1:37 remaining on the clock before the start of the game. The gym was cleared as the fans took safety in the hallways.
After a 40-minute delay the players took the court for another 15-minute warmup while the fans retook their seats.
Stevenson knocked down a trio of three-pointers as the Patriots took an early 11-8 lead. The teams then traded leads as Stevenson took a 15-13 lead after one quarter.
Trailing 16-13, Barrington’s Alec Schmidts hit an inside basket and Gray went long distance as the Broncs surged ahead 18-16.
But Barrington could not hold onto the lead thanks to three missed layups. Meanwhile Stevenson would outscore Barrington 8-2 in the final six minutes to lead 26-20 at the half.
Bardic finished with 14 points for Stevenson while Burris had 9 .
Peipert led Barrington with 19 points and Gray had 14.
“We have talked a lot this year about the character of these kids,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “You knew they were going to keep fighting. They did a great job to get that game into overtime. It says a lot about who they are.”