Bartlett 85, St. Charles East 84 ( 2 OT)
With regional play is still a little over a week away, Bartlett and St. Charles East decided to offer a sneak peak at that kind of postseason intensity Friday night in St. Charles.
Thirty-two minutes couldn't decide the emotionally charged Upstate Eight battle. Neither could 36.
The final two of Marc Little's career-high 25 points -- 2 free throws with 5.7 seconds left in the second overtime -- gave the Hawks an 85-84 win.
St. Charles East (12-12, 5-4) had one final shot but Brian Lankton's 30-foot 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
Bartlett (17-7, 6-3) won despite two of its three leading scorers -- Cory Hrynyk and Kamil Janton -- fouling out late in regulation.
Little, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, saved the day, not only with his game-winning free throws but also a 22-foot 3-pointer that forced the first overtime, and the Hawks' last 6 points in the final 1:33 of the second overtime.
"My coach told me to shoot it so I shot it," Little said of his game-tying 3.
When Collin Pryor scored on a putback with 2:10 left in regulation, it cut the Hawks lead to 61-60. It had been a back-and-forth game up to that point, with the Saints leading for most of the first half and the Hawks most of the second, and neither team ever ahead by more than 7 points.
Then a very good high school basketball game hit an even higher level:
• The lead changed hands 14 times in the final 1:43 of regulation and two overtimes, starting with Pryor's steal at halfcourt and two-hand jam for a 62-61 Saints lead.
• Pryor, who finished with a career-high 37 points and 15 rebounds, scored 19 of those points in the fourth quarter and 2 overtimes. He also went 13 of 13 at the free throw line.
"He kept us in it single-handedly," St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said.
• Pryor's 3-point play put the Saints up 74-72 in the first overtime, only to see Bartlett sophomore Luke Labedski's basket send the game to a second overtime tied at 74.
• Starting with Marc Stellato's leaner in the lane that put the Saints ahead 80-79 with 1:45 left in the second overtime, the teams traded the lead six times to end the game.
Little, who like Pryor was perfect at the line making all 12, swished 2 free throws. Pryor answered with a bucket, then Little drained an 18-foot jumper. Pryor picked up a loose ball near the Saints basket and put it in for an 84-83 Saints lead with 15 seconds left.
Little quickly drove back down the court and into the lane, where he was knocked down trying for a layup. He calmly hit both free throws.
Bartlett finished 21 of 26 at the line; the Saints 19 of 21.
"Even with Cory and Kamil out we still had weapons offensively and we are a very good defensive team," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We've got the depth to handle it, though I don't know if we could have handled one more (overtime). I'll take it. It's a nice win.
"These are the games that prepare you for the postseason. This is the kind of atmosphere I want, this is the kind of intensity I want."
Janton, Bartlett's 6-foot-9 Eastern Michigan-bound center, matched Pryor before fouling out, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Labedski added 14 points and Frankie Cleope 10 off the bench.
"That's definitely a team win," Janton said. "I was carrying the team during the first half, second half, and then a bunch of guys stepped up in overtime to get the W."
Like Pryor, Zach Scott also stepped up late. He hit all 6 of his free throws in the fourth quarter, then a 3-pointer to start the first overtime as part of a 15-point night. Lankton added 12 points including 2 baskets in the overtimes.
"We had the game sealed three times in a row and they made the shots to beat us," Scott said. "They took the game from us."
St. Charles East will try to rebound tonight against Batavia.
"Great high school game and someone had to lose it and unfortunately it was us," Clodi said. "Bottom line is they made one more play than us at the end. We had control of the game. We just have to learn how to close out the game."