Aluquin, Bartlett rise above Carmel
A shrub toppled trees Saturday afternoon.
Bartlett guard Marcus Aluquin, a 5-foot-10, 145-pound sophomore, slithered fearlessly around significantly taller defenders to score the winning basket in a 78-77 double-overtime defeat of Carmel at Mundelein's boys basketball tournament.
The reserve had faked a pass near the top of the key before motoring past some stunned Corsairs in the lane.
“No hesitation,” said Aluquin, who saw considerable action after classmate Lance Whitaker (game-high 23 points) fouled out at 1:45 of the fourth quarter. “Took it to the hole, that's all. I had confidence as I drove.”
The passionate hoopster “I'm all basketball, 24/7,” he said afterward in happy locker room scored all but 3 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and two extra sessions. Aluquin netted the clincher with 14.5 seconds left.
“I learned nothing new about my team today,” said relieved Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith, who exhaled a “Phewwwww” heard 'round Lake County after the exhausting, taut battle. “I know this team is deep; it's my deepest team in my four years. My players, though, learned about our depth. Depth had to play hard and play well today, and it did.
“Consider what Marcus did today,” he added. “He stepped up, and he did it on such a huge stage.”
Stage fright at the free-throw line (15-for-31) doomed Carmel (2-2), which led 26-19 at the half and 38-37 after three periods. Bartlett (3-1) made all 12 of its freebies in the fourth frame, when it edged Carmel 25-24 to force OT. Hawks senior forward Femi Oyewole (3 points, 15 rebounds), with 7.8 seconds left in regulation, tied it at 62-62 on an easy bucket down low after a zippy pass from heady junior guard Matt Chaltin (15 points).
Neither team led by more than 2 points in the first OT. A lofty trey from Bartlett senior guard David Greiter (10 points) the ball nearly kissed a rafter put the Hawks up 67-66. Carmel junior guard Conner Jordan (12 points) had opened the scoring in OT on a steal-and-layup sequence; he then answered Greiter's 3-pointer with a bucket after a baseline drive.
In the second OT, Corsairs reserve forward Mike Fitzgibbons hit 2 free throws to give his club a 77-76 advantage at 1:33. Aluquin later came through with the biggest field goal of his young career.
“Sloppy,” Carmel first-year coach Tim Bowen said. “We were sloppy. All these days of basketball caught up with us, showed our wear and tear. We had so many opportunities to win this. (Bartlett's Hawks) could say the same thing; they also let opportunities slip through their hands (in regulation and the first OT).”
Senior guard Doug Meyer (20 points) paced Carmel's offense, followed by classmate Tim Hendricks (17) and junior forward Brandon Motzel (16 points, 9 boards). Motzel wowed the spectators on consecutive possessions late in the second quarter, going vertical at one end of the court (to throw down a dunk) and horizontal at the other end (to dive for a loose ball and force a turnover).
“I want to win,” he said unblinkingly. “With a new coach, I want to play hard, play good defense, prove myself.”
Junior forward Mitchell Lorenzo contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds for Bartlett.