Bartlett survives South Elgin in OT

The Bartlett boys basketball team had already beaten its rival South Elgin twice during the regular season, but it's never easy to beat a team three times. So, on Monday the Hawks called on a little assistance from Lady Luck.

With 42 seconds left in regulation and Bartlett trailing 57-54 Drew Martin launched a 3-point shot from well beyond the arc that was way off the mark. However, the ball bounced off the glass and into the net to tie the score at 57-57. It would remain that way into overtime where the Hawks would go on to win 65-60 in opening round action of the Class 4A Larkin regional.

The Hawks (17-12) also got a break on a shot earlier in the fourth quarter when Ben Tompson double clutched on a baseline drive while losing his balance and fired up an awkward line drive that went in.

Tompson went on to finish with a team-high 21 points.

"Sometimes it just comes down to blind luck," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We jacked up a lot of bad shots and were just fortunate to have some go in. It's always hard to beat a team three times and South Elgin has gotten better every time they faced us, so if it takes a little luck we'll take it."

There is always a lot of excitement around a Bartlett vs. South Elgin contest and this time around was certainly not short on drama with 12 lead changes.

Once the game got into overtime the Hawks jumped out to a 59-57 lead on the opening possession with a couple free throws by Ben Fisher. Tomas Vikonis later followed with a basket in the lane to extend the lead to 61-57. Tompson added a pair of free throws down the stretch to help ice the win. The Hawks' defense allowed just one 3-pointer in the overtime period.

"In this kind of game there is a lot of panic on both sides," Wolfsmith said. "It usually comes down to who can keep their heads the most. I don't know if we always did that on offense tonight, but I liked the way we kept our cool and defended on the other end."

Before the game-tying 3-pointer in regulation Martin had a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

"That last 3-pointer was a blessing," Martin said. "Sometimes you get a break. The whole time the game was just going at a crazy pace. It was a lot of fun."

South Elgin went on a 9-0 run at the end of the first half to grab a 32-26 lead. Bartlett went on an 8-0 run of its own at the start of the third quarter to pull ahead 34-32. The two teams went back and forth. The Storm grabbed its final lead 57-54 on a 4-point play by Kyle Scully, who finished with a game high 22 points.

The Storm finished with a 19-9 record.

"It's tough to lose a game like that," South Elgin coach Brett Johnson said. "But we did a good job of putting ourselves in a position to win. That's really all you can ask for. Unfortunately it just didn't go our way."

Fisher added 14 points for the Hawks. Logan Atkins had 15 points for the Storm.