Bartlett overcomes Elgin with big second half

It took a while for the Bartlett boys basketball team to shake the rust off Saturday afternoon after an 11-day break without a game.

The Hawks turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and trailed Elgin, 30-27, at halftime.

That all changed in the third quarter. Bartlett turned the ball over just once and outscored the Maroons 18-9 to take control en route to a 62-52 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Bartlett.

"We had a lot more energy," Bartlett senior Larry Whitaker said. "In the first half we didn't know who to guard and left people open. We finally picked it up in the third quarter."

The Maroons (5-19, 0-9) used a 10-2 run midway through the second quarter to take a 5-point lead, 28-23, and led, 30-27, at the break. Kory Brown led the way with 9 first-half points. Tim Newcombe and Arie Williams each added 6.

Bartlett (13-9, 6-2) opened the third quarter with a 16-5 run, taking a 43-35 lead. Hawks senior Luke Labedzki scored 8 points and freshman Lance Whitaker added 6 points during the run. The Hawks held Elgin to just 9 third-quarter points.

"We decided to focus on the things that we believe in," Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We played better defense in the third quarter. We closed out better. Offensively we took better shots."

The Hawks kept a double-digit lead for most of the fourth quarter as Elgin got no closer than the six it trailed by entering the final quarter.

"This was the first time all year we tried to slow it down," Maroons coach Mike Sitter said. "This was a team that we didn't want to go up and down with. I thought our kids did a pretty good job of it."

Brown led the Maroons with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Newcombe added 13 points.

Labedzki's 20 points paced Bartlett. Lance Whitaker scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Larry Whitaker added 11 points and 12 rebounds.