Barrington edges Willowbrook
Less than 24 hours after notching a Mid-Suburban League win, Barrington’s boys basketball team hit the road for a nonconference game against an unfamiliar opponent in Willowbrook.
Every foot of Saturday’s 30-mile trip to Villa Park hinted of a letdown for the Broncos, but they weren’t about to let the chance of a weekend sweep slip away.
Barrington held off a fierce effort from Willowbrook, creating a pleasant bus ride home with a 61-59 victory over the Warriors.
“The team came out focused today,” said Broncos senior guard Brad Zaumseil, who scored 7 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. “We didn’t have much time to prepare for this one. We had JV this morning and came straight here. We just came out and did what we had to do.”
Willowbrook (9-12) nearly ruined the trip for Barrington (14-10) after Josh Joiner’s basket at the start of the fourth quarter put the Warriors ahead 40-38. A 6-0 run reclaimed the lead for Barrington, which extended the advantage to 53-48 on Zaumseil’s three-point play with 3:41 left.
Trailing 59-56 with less than 20 seconds remaining, the Warriors missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game. Zaumseil responded with a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds left to seal the win.
Tiger Greene’s 3-pointer at the buzzer put the final at 61-59.
“We thought this was a dangerous game for a lot of reasons,” said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker, whose team beat Conant on Friday. “Conference game last night where we played really well. You’ve got to guard against a letdown, so that was a challenge. I really like how they responded. I thought they came out ready to play.”
Barrington went to work right away establishing 6-foot-5 junior Zach Bart in the post. Working deep toward the basket, Bart scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter. Bart’s perfect shooting led to the Broncos’ collective 20-of-34 effort on the night.
Willowbrook, however, looked ready to make a run in the third quarter while forcing Barrington into 9 of its 22 turnovers and 4-of-11 shooting from the field. The Warriors, however, committed 9 of their own turnovers while making only 3 of 9 field goals.
A brief 7-0 run, capped by a Joiner 3-pointer, gave Willowbrook its biggest lead of 34-31 midway through the third quarter. Barrington responded with 7 straight points.
Greene scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Willowbrook while Joiner finished with 11.
“We didn’t have the energy we’ve had the last three or four games,” said Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins. “I don’t know if it was having Friday off or the 6 p.m. start, but no excuses. We just came out flat.”
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