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Hoffman Estates trips up Barrington

Nick and Mike Vuckovic combined for 35 points in Hoffman Estates' home victory, a 52-45 decision over Barrington Tuesday night.

In the topsy turvy Mid-Suburban West the Hawks are now 13-3 and 2-2 while the Broncos are also 13-3 and 2-2.

Hoffman Estates' 2-3 zone gave the Broncos fits all night in its first win over Barrington in 10 years.

"They didn't have an answer for our zone," said Nick Vuckovic, who scored 18 points. "Late in the game we controlled the tempo and didn't let them speed us up. We handled their traps. We played with a lot of heart. When something went wrong we didn't let it get us down."

Barrington's last lead was at 38-37 with 6:42 left in the game.

Hoffman snapped right back with Nick Vuckovic nailing a 3- point basket and Darien Irvin connecting for one free throw and a 41-38 lead which they would not give up.

Leading 41-40 following Will Grudzinski's (15 points) basket, the Hawks used a free throw and a 3-point basket by D.J. Wallace, who would score 9 points and grab 8 rebounds, for a 47-42 with 2:09 left in the game.

Daniel Hong (14 points) hit a 3-point basket with 1:29 left to close Barrington's gap to 47-45 with 1:20 left.

The Hawks hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to pull out the win.

Irvin hit four of the free throws.

Hoffman never let Barrington work the ball inside which was a big difference in the contest.

Mike Vuckovic knew what carried them through.

"Teams underestimate us," said Vuckovic. "We fought through a lot of things. It was an important win for us. We came out with energy and that's something we do in every game. We were able to use our team speed and we shared the ball."

Even though they did not score Luka Sparavalo, Preet Brahmbhatt, and Daharr Scott contributed in other ways for Hoffman Estates.

"This is a group who has committed to be playing for something other than themselves," said Hawks coach Peter McBride. "Today we played with effort and grit. Their daily habits have been good enough for us to be successful. It's an amazing group of good men."

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