Bolger-Lundquist tandem excels for Schaumburg
For the past three seasons, Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh has known he could count on Kyle Bolger and Jimmy Lundquist. The duo didn’t let Walsh down Friday in Barrington, where the pair combined for 34 points in the Saxons’ 46-40 Mid-Suburban West victory over the Broncos.
“I really believe that Kyle and Jimmy are two of the most underrated players in the Chicago area,” Walsh said. “Kyle and Jimmy have leadership and toughness. Those guys are three-year starters. They know how to win and the kids on our team believe in them.”
That belief was demonstrated in the final 1:19 of the game with Schaumburg up 38-30. The pair almost exclusively handled the ball for the Saxons and converted 8 of 12 free throws to clinch the game.
“It is a team game,” said Bolger, who finished with 20 points. “We want to play together and that is our major emphasis. Just executing on both sides of the ball and doing what we need to do.”
“Coach looks to us to lead the team,” said Lundquist, who had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. “We would go into battle any day with the guys we have. The heart they bring to the team is unmatched by anyone.”
Schaumburg (11-8, 5-2) led 18-16 at the half with Bolger tallying 10 of those points.
Thanks to the play of UC-Davis bound Brad Zaumseil, who finished with 25 points, the Broncos (12-10, 3-4) opened the second half with a 6-0 run. Barrington was able to build a 26-21 advantage with 3:13 left in the third quarter.
Schaumburg’s Cole Reyes, who finished with 10 points, then came up with two offensive rebounds of his own missed shots. Reyes then converted the second rebound into a key basket that helped ignite a 7-0 run as the Saxons pulled ahead 28-26 late in the third quarter.
Barrington tied it at 28 on a basket by Zaumseil early in the fourth quarter. Lundquist’s basket with six minutes to play sparked another 6-0 Saxon run which turned into a 10-2 surge as Schaumburg opened up a 38-30 advantage.
“Again, I am really proud of our guys,” Walsh said. “I thought they showed a lot of toughness and they showed a lot of belief in each other and in what we do out there.”
The victory moved Schaumburg into a tie in the MSL West with Fremd, while Palatine and Conant are each 4-3, with Barrington a game behind them.
“Their experience with Lundquist and Bolger really took over,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “Brad did a great job for us, but we need some other guys stepping up for us.”