Bartlett shakes off West Aurora

Nothing more frustrating if you're a shooter than shots that just … aren't … falling.

That describes Tuesday night for Robby Jimenez.

Jimenez, a Bartlett boys basketball senior forward, is known for his 3-point shooting ability, a major reason he's averaging 17 points per game. But in the first half Tuesday against pesky West Aurora, he made just 1 of 8 shots from long distance.

He got it straightened out, though, hitting a pair in an 11-4 fourth-quarter run that helped the Hawks prevail 67-54 and avenge a Jan. 22 loss to the Blackhawks.

"I have extreme confidence in my shot, so I know they are going to start falling sooner or later," he said. "I just have that mentality, keep on shooting. They weren't falling at the beginning and then they started falling, and I could just breathe."

Jimenez paced Bartlett on Senior Night, finishing with 15 points and 7 rebounds, but got a lot of help from fellow seniors Tyler Pauletti (13 points) and Jason Hasenberg (11 points, 8 rebounds). Bartlett also got 18 points and solid minutes from a senior-laden bench, including Rashaun Hayes, Anthony Ryan and Zachary Stewart.

"Robby knows he's got the green light to shoot," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith, whose team improved to 18-10 and 6-4 in the Upstate Eight Valley. "I thought he took one forced 3 in the first quarter, but most of those shots were good shots - they didn't fall down. He found his rhythm in the second half and got his points."

West Aurora hung around all night, using a trifecta of 3-pointers to start the second half to tie the game at 31-31. An ensuing Bartlett 11-2 run provided some cushion, but the Blackhawks battled back to cut the lead to 48-42 with 7:06 left in the game.

But that's when Jimenez found his shooting touch. He knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:12 left, and after a deuce from West Aurora sophomore guard Camron Donatlan, he did it again, this time from the right arc at 3:05.

The best West Aurora could do was a scattering of 4 free throws and a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left by Donatlan, who led all scorers with 26 points, well above his 14 ppg average. Junior forward Caleb Siler added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

"I thought Jimenez hit some huge shots down the stretch," said West Aurora coach Brian Johnson, whose team fell to 8-17 and 5-5 in the UEC Valley. "We've just got to better on the defensive end of the floor, in the half court."