Boys basketball: Cwik’s career night sparks Bartlett’s win over South Elgin
Joey Cwik slashed his way to a career-high 31 points as Bartlett took home a 71-52 victory over Upstate Eight West conference rival South Elgin on Friday night in Bartlett.
The Hawks’ dynamic guard had his way with the Storm defense. He seemed to bring a little something extra this evening, as he routinely swept through the lane and put on an acrobatic display that left South Elgin (8-19, 5-6) looking for answers.
“I model my game after my brother,” said Cwik, proudly, referring to his sibling Drew. “He played college basketball [at Trine University] and you know, trained me … he went to South Elgin, so this game's pretty personal to me.”
Perhaps that was inspiration for the Storm as well. A large contingent of South Elgin faithful took the quick trip down Sutton Road and packed the student section in the Bartlett gym, heckling the Hawks (11-15, 9-4) whenever they could.
While they brought black out apparel and big energy along with them, nothing could throw this Hawk off his game.
“I've been through this situation before [in] two games already with them,” shrugged Cwik. “This pressure can't really affect me and how I play.”
The sophomore standout lived up to his name, controlling the pace and combining his ability to weave his way to the rim with a consistent outside shot. He finished the night a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line along with 3 three-pointers.
“Joey's a great player,” said aptly named South Elgin coach Ryan Storm, knowingly. “He just kept building confidence and building confidence and building confidence and when that happens? He becomes really tough to stop.”
South Elgin senior guard Quentin Albert was the engine behind the Storm offense, draining shot after shot himself to help keep his team in the ballgame as Cwik and Bartlett picked up the pace in the second quarter.
“I told him to let it fly, play loose, play with aggression, and we had times where we did that,” said Storm, of Albert, who finished the game leading his team with 18 points on 6 three-point shots.
However, as the second half wore on, the size of the Bartlett front court and their senior forward Keegan Taylor made life difficult for the Storm. Taylor routinely grabbed clutch rebounds on his way to a 15-point performance.
“When he plays around the basket with his feet locked in space like that, he's hard to stop for guys that aren't bigger than him,” said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith.
Storm agreed. “They have great size and length, then you all of a sudden get in these patterns of just relying on the outside shot and hoping that one or two of them falls,” he said. “And that's a tough recipe sometimes.”
With the regular season wrapping up in a matter of weeks, Wolfsmith and the Hawks have their sights set on the bigger picture.
“At this point, everything is about getting ready for the postseason,” said the Bartlett coach.
“Last year we had a tough opponent,” added Taylor, remembering a postseason tilt with Glenbard West a year ago. “Hopefully this year we'll play the best that we can. Hopefully we win a regional.”
Bartlett welcomes Schaumburg for a 3 p.m. tip Saturday. Meanwhile, South Elgin will have to wait until Tuesday before they head to Naperville North for a 7 p.m. game.