Parade to free throw line end in Bartlett's favor

The Bartlett boys basketball team struggled to hit free throws in the first three quarters.

But the Hawks made them when it mattered most.

Bartlett made 17 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter after getting into the bonus with just under 3 minutes left in the third quarter to rally past Elgin, 64-59, in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover game in Bartlett Saturday night.

"We were cold," said Bartlett junior Matt Chaltin said. "It's a good thing we came back."

The Hawks (4-4), who broke a three-game losing streak, had hit only 6 of 16 free throws (38 percent) in the first three quarters, trailing the entire game. Elgin's lead was 46-42 just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter after a Dennis Moore basket. Bartlett's Lance Whitaker, who finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds, drew Elgin's 10th foul of the half with 7:31 remaining, giving the Hawks 2 free throws after every foul the rest of the way.

Whitaker hit 1 of 2 free throws and the parade to the free-throw line began. The Hawks made just 2 field goals in the final quarter, scoring 17 of their 22 points from the foul line.

"We missed free throws. We missed 15 free throws," said Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith, whose team went 6-for-16 from the foul line in the first three quarters. "We've got to hit those. If we hit 10 of those, it's a different game in the fourth quarter. It's a different game in the first half."

Elgin (5-2) jumped out to an early lead thanks to its 3-point shooting. The Maroons hit 5 of their first 9 attempts from behind the arc to grab a 29-20 lead with 2:30 left in the first half. But the Hawks scored the final 6 points of the half, including a Chaltin 3-pointer at the buzzer to trail 29-26 at the break.

Lorenzo Mitchell scored 30 seconds in the third quarter to cut the Elgin lead to 1, 29-28. Moore, who led the Maroons with 22 points, increased the Elgin lead back to 6, 37-31, with 5:25 left in the third.

The lead was 2 going into the fourth before Moore's basket 15 seconds into the fourth gave Elgin a 46-42 lead. But Bartlett then began to chip away at the free-throw line. Marcus Aluquin, who had 9 points off the bench, went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth. Chaltin was 4-for-4 and Whitaker went 5-for-8.

The Maroons went cold in the final quarter, hitting just 5 of 18 shots.

"They played off us a lot and challenged us to shoot jumpers all day," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "I think we could have been more patient on the offensive end."

Mitchell added 8 points and 7 rebounds for the Hawks.

Jordan Dean had 17 points for Elgin, Kory Brown added 10 and Arie Williams had 9 for the Maroons.