Boys basketball: Gray, Barrington sink Rolling Meadows

Oliver Gray scored 15 points and sank six fourth-quarter free throws down the stretch as Barrington won its second Mid-Suburban League contest of the season with a 52-47 victory over Rolling Meadows on Thursday evening in Barrington.

The Broncos (7-11, 2-6) jumped out to an early lead in this one, taking a 12-5 advantage into the second quarter of play before building their lead up to 31-13 at the half.

“We were just trying to stay patient on offense, take great shots, every possession,” Gray said. “We were having, like, our best defensive half we've ever had, so it was a really good half for us.”

Gray, a 6-foot-6 forward with Division I offers from Eastern Illinois and Cleveland State, commanded significant attention from Rolling Meadows all night long.

He repeatedly ran the width of the floor and tried to shake himself loose from the Mustangs defense, opening up looks for teammates, such as Evan Shechtman and D.J. Young.

Shechtman, a fellow senior forward, added 15 points of his own, including a pair of 3-pointers and 8 fourth-quarter points.

Gray nailed a corner 3 directly in front of the Rolling Meadows student section as time expired on the first half. The play left him fading away and sprinting directly into the Broncos locker room with momentum on his team's side.

He was happy with that shot, as well as the way he got other playmakers involved offensively.

“It's just a lot of getting other players shots, because there's a lot of attention on me,” Gray said. “So if I can use that attention to get my teammates open shots, it makes us a lot better.”

Young did his damage early on. He scored 8 of his 11 points in the first half and also sank a pair of 3s.

He brought quite a bit of energy to the defensive end of the court as well, helping Gray and company make a statement with their physicality.

“Our main goal was just defense, boxing out,” Young said. “We like to box out a lot. And yeah, just defense, getting back, stopping the ball.”

Barrington coach Bryan Tucker enjoyed watching his upperclassmen lead the way.

“They're senior leaders who have been through the battle,” Tucker said. “They're talented kids. They're competitive, and, you know, everyone else has got to follow along.”

The Broncos built the advantage up to 23 points until around the seven-minute mark of the third quarter before the Mustangs began to battle back.

Rolling Meadows (13-8, 2-5) went on a 9-0 run with sophomore guard Alex Cohan knocking down a free throw after he laid in a putback attempt. He was a bright spot for the Mustangs, finishing with 10 points.

Marty Lesner, a senior, led Rolling Meadows as he battered and bruised his way to a hard-earned 16 points.

“Marty played a great game. Marty's a great kid,” said Mustang coach Kevin Katovich. “He's a competitor. He loves to compete. And, you know, that's why he's such a good player because he's going to give you everything.”

That is exactly what both Lesner and teammate Andrew Krestel did, as they both wrestled their way to the free-throw line repeatedly during a late-game comeback bid.

Their efforts brought the Mustangs to within four points with under a minute to play before Gray put the game away at the line.

“I was a little nervous,” Gray said. “But I was confident they were gonna go in. I just held my follow through, (and) stuck them.”

For the Mustangs, it was too little too late, but their coach was proud of their second-half performance.

“The team never quits. They never give up,” Katovich added. “They work really hard. They come in day in, day out and, whether we're scoring a lot or not, they just battle. I really appreciate that as their coach.”