Schaumburg’s OT win jams up MSL West
Get your computers ready because it’s tiebreaker time in the Mid-Suburban West boys basketball race.
Schaumburg made sure of that Friday by beating first-place Barrington 50-47 in overtime, creating a four-way logjam atop the division standings and denying Barrington a share of the division title.
The Broncos, Saxons, Conant and Fremd each are 6-3 with 1 game left.
Schaumburg prevailed in a physical, hard-fought contest despite scoring just 7 points in the middle two quarters, including a lone free throw in the third that allowed Barrington to turn a 22-21 halftime deficit into a 30-23 lead.
And when it came down to crunch time, Schaumburg’s Javon McDonald scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, despite extra defensive attention from Brad Zaumseil and Greg Gerrard. McDonald’s 3 from the corner tied the game at 37 with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our guys are really something,” Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh said after his team evened its record in overtime games this season at 3-3. “They’re such a pleasure to coach. They believe in one another and what we’re doing.”
Both teams turned the ball over once in the waning seconds. Gerrard banked in a shot from well beyond the arc, but it left his hand after time had expired, sending the game into overtime.
That’s when McDonald and Kyle Bolger (game-high 15 points) took over. Bolger scored 7 of the Saxons’ 14 overtime points with 2 baskets and 2 free throws. His 3-pointer opened the scoring in overtime, and Schaumburg (11-10 overall) held off Barrington (17-8) from the foul line.
“After six overtimes, we know we need to play tougher than the other team,” Bolger said. “We knew what we had to do to win.”
McDonald knew the special attention from Barrington’s defense would open up other opportunities for his teammates.
“That defense is frustrating, but I try to zone it out,” McDonald said. “We knew what they were going to do, and our scout team ‘was Barrington’ during practice this week.”
“Javon is always there when we need him,” Walsh said. “He’s a great teammate. He moved well without the ball and played great defense like he always does.
“Barrington is such a physical, deep, talented, well-coached team, we’re fortunate to come away with the W.”
“I’m proud of the way our kids responded after the first quarter, but we just had some lapses (later in the game),” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “There are a lot of things we can look to do better.
“Right now, (the players) are not happy. They’re disappointed in how we played. If we were more consistent, we’d be in a better mood right now.”
John Schneider led Barrington with 13 points while Gerrard and Tyler Weathered each scored 9.