Chaltin steps up, Bartlett tops South Elgin

Bartlett sophomore Matt Chaltin did not play in the first half Friday night.

But he was in the game during crunchtime in the fourth quarter, and he made two of the biggest shots of the game.

Chaltin tied the game at 45-45 with his first 3-pointer and gave the Hawks a 7-point lead with another with just over 2 minutes remaining to give Bartlett some much-needed breathing room.

The shots helped the second-seeded Hawks win the Class 4A Bartlett regional with a 66-61 victory over No. 1 South Elgin.

"How about that shot from Chaltin? Tell me that wasn't huge," Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said of Chaltin's second 3-pointer. "He's got ice water in his veins."

"I just have to keep shooting," Chaltin said. "That's what coach tells me."

Bartlett (16-11) will play Rockford Jefferson, which beat Crystal Lake South on Friday, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals of the Rockford Boylan sectional. This is the Hawks' third regional championship, all won on their home court.

The Hawks led most of the way, but not by more than 6 until Chaltin's 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining.

The Storm (18-10) led 21-17 after a Sam Sutter 3-pointer with 5:10 left in the second quarter. Bartlett answered with a 16-6 run to end the first half to take a 33-27 lead. Mike Banks, who led the Hawks with 20 points, had 11 in the half for the Hawks.

Tommy Childs hit a step-back 3-pointer as time was running out of the third quarter to get South Elgin within 3, 42-39, going to the fourth. His steal on the Hawks' first possession of the fourth led to a Dillon Gardner basket and Childs then scored on a driving layup with 7:20 to give the Storm a 43-42 lead. Gardner added another inside bucket to cap an 11-2 run as South Elgin took a 45-42 lead.

Less than 10 seconds later, Chaltin nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the game. Banks' jumper in the lane with 5:58 left gave the Hawks lead for good.

"They answered back great," Childs said. "They were ready for us tonight. They knew pretty much what we were going to do. They got the job done."

Childs, who finished with a game-high 26 points in his final high school game, got the Storm within 4, 55-51, with 2:26 remaining. Chaltin then hit a 3-pointer with 2:07 left for a 58-51 Bartlett advantage. The lead grew to as many as 11.

"Matt Chaltin hit two big shots," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said.

Larry Whitaker had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Hawks. Luke Labedzki finished with 10 points.

Sutter and John Menken each added 9 points for the Storm.