Barrington holds off Hoffman Estates
By the conclusion of Friday night's Mid-Suburban West boys basketball game between Hoffman Estates and visiting Barrington, the Hawks had created a puzzling mixture of conditions that certainly challenged the Broncos throughout the evening.
Unfortunately for Hoffman, that mixture ran out as Barrington was finally able to hold off the Hawks 52-48.
"It goes to show you that there are never any easy nights in the MSL West - no way," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "They (Hoffman) are a tall athletic team that's very talented. They're capable of pushing the tempo if you're not careful and that's what they were able to do at times to us tonight."
The Hawks (4-6, 0-3) first rallied from an 8-point deficit late in the first half by going on a 6-0 run that began with back-to-back hoops by Sheldon Barnett-Morales (9 points, 7 rebounds) that got the hosts within a pair before an Aaron Sarkar 3-pointer gave the Broncos a 26-21 halftime advantage.
The 6-foot-2 junior would open the second half with 4 more points that along with a pair of Mark Johnson free throws helped Barrington (6-2, 2-1) open up its biggest lead of the night at 32-21 just 2:07 into the third.
It was at that point that Hoffman went on a 15-4 tear that tied the game up at 36 on a 3-point play by 6-2 senior swingman Rudra Patel (11 points) just half a minute into the final quarter.
Then the Johnson-Sarkar combination took things over.
A trio of free throws from 6-5 junior Connor Keenan sandwiched around 9 of their points during a 12-5 run over the next 5:12 that once and for all established the Barrington lead.
It was first 5 straight points from Johnson that included a 3 followed by back-to-back baskets from Sarkar that would leave the Broncos ahead 48-41 with 2:17 to play.
The Hawks would get no closer than 4 the rest of the way.
Tucker praised Johnson's effort as the 6-5 senior joined Sarkar with a game-high 16 point performance. Johnson added a game-high 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in the winning effort.
"He along with Jason (Boock) have provided a steadying force that our other players have looked up to," Tucker said. "You cannot put a price on the need for senior leadership."
"Obviously we lost a lot to graduation, but Jason and I knew that we had to rally one another and create a foundation of pride of what we built as well as building trust among ourselves," Johnson said.
They will look to continue that with a return trip to Lake Zurich Saturday evening where they fell to the Bears on their home floor in last year's sectional final.
"They're a very good team and what happened up there last year gives us fuel to try and get that taste out of our mouths," Johnson said.
In the meantime, Hawks' coach Luke Yanule plans ahead with the Hawks' schedule next week which features hosting Schaumburg Friday and opening round play at the Glenbard West Holiday Tournament against the host Hilltoppers next Saturday night in Glen Ellyn.
"Our kids have been focused throughout," Yanule said. "I'm proud of their toughness as well as how they never quit, we just need to match that with being stronger mentally."