Boys basketball: Bardic comes up big in OT in Stevenson’s win over Libertyville
Breathless Stevenson senior guard Aiden Bardic scored 10 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, recorded a steal, used a forearm to deflect an inbound pass, causing a turnover, and played a game of keep-away while dribbling the ball here, there and everywhere.
He did all of the above Wednesday night in ... overtime.
And in the Patriots' home opener.
OTs last only 4 minutes.
"Overtimes are fun," said a smiling Bardic after scoring 23 points in host Stevenson's 60-55 OT defeat of Libertyville in a taut North Suburban Conference boys basketball game in Lincolnshire.
"I could've played better in the four quarters. I missed some shots, threw some passes away."
But the 6-foot-3, 175-pound gamer to the bone more than made up for those miscues in the OT session, netting all 6 of his free throws to cap his 13-for-16 night from the line.
"What impressed me the most was Aidan's physical presence tonight," said Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski, whose squad (5-1, 0-1 in the NSC) played without injured junior guard Blaise LaVista. "He's a big-time, experienced player like (Stevenson's) Atticus Richmond (15 points, 10 rebounds).
"I was encouraged, getting to overtime against a team like Stevenson at this point of the season," added the coach of the 18th-ranked team in the Daily Herald's Top 20. "We had some good moments."
Wildcats junior forward Bryce Wegrzyn had a very good night, pouring in 24 points, including a combined 17 in the second half and OT.
Libertyville led 9-6 after a wobbly first quarter from both teams. Stevenson (5-2, 2-0) --- ranked No. 9 --- then outscored the visitors 20-10 in the second frame, pulling ahead by 8 at the 2:07 mark and enjoying that same advantage twice in the third quarter before Libertyville hung around.
The Wildcats went up 44-43 on a Wegrzyn freebie at 3:41 of the fourth. Bardic and Richmond collaborated for Stevenson's final 5 points in regulation, and a Wegrzyn bucket knotted it at 48.
Neither team scored in the final 18 seconds.
Bardic then owned the OT.
"Aidan is super competitive with a super-high hoops IQ," Patriots coach Will Benson said. "Smart, so smart, and he's always asking questions in film sessions."
Libertyville senior guard Liam Hanson tallied his team's first 6 points and finished with 14. Teammate Jonathan Adjei struck for all 10 of his points after intermission.
Stevenson's Liam Curtain, Spencer Flynn and Adrian Albrecht each contributed 6 points.
"It's always fun going against Libertyville," Bardic said. "It's always intense.
"You get to overtime in a game like this, and it usually comes down to which team has the most energy."