Ivanauskas powers Barrington past South Elgin
If it was bad enough South Elgin's boys basketball team got eaten up by 6-foot-6 inch Mark Konkle for 26 points in a 32-point loss to Metea Valley on Friday, Saturday's matchup that featured 6-foot-9 Barrington junior Rapolas Ivanauskas only got worse for the Storm.
Ivanauskas gave the Storm a taste of what Barrington's big man can do in a 65-43 Broncos win to open up pool play at the 2014 Hinkle Holiday Classic at Jacobs. Ivanauskas poured in 22 points, including going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and grabbed 5 rebounds. He also knocked down two 3-pointers, one of which came in the first quarter when Barrington (8-3) nailed three 3s en route to a 15-7 advantage.
"I tried to find gaps or openings where I can be effective, whether it being the high post or the 3-point," Ivanauskas said of his ability. "Being that I'm very versatile, I can spot up on the 3-point line or go and post up and find my teammates, that's what I'll do."
Inside-out, the big man certainly did so, giving the South Elgin (4-6) zone fits throughout as the closest the Storm ever reached was 12 at the half. But Ivanauskas nailed a 3 to begin the third and got his teammates involved, including senior Ben Weber who scored 12 points in Barrington's second-straight win.
"He was able to get comfortable looks on the perimeter, drive, even when the zone collapsed on him, he just felt comfortable shooting over, they didn't really have a good matchup for him," Broncos' coach Bryan Tucker said of Ivanauskas. "He made some great passes finding guys out of the zone."
Broncos' guards Chris Lester and Matt McAndrews each chipped in 6 points and while the win comes off the heels of a tough 65-57 Mid-Suburban win over Fremd Friday, Tucker was pleased with starting pool play strong.
"We had a tough game (Friday) night, a big conference game," Tucker said. "Obviously we're happy with the outcome of that one but we knew this was a dangerous game coming in here if we were not focused and ready to go."
South Elgin's engines appeared to warm up too late. After scoring just 17 points in the first half, the Storm put together a 16-point fourth quarter for a 26-point second half. Logan Atkins registered a team-high 16 points in the Storm's second-straight loss, with 10 coming in the final 16 minutes. Matt Smith had 7 points but it was too much Ivanauskas and a Barrington squad that was much more physical.
"He's a lot more assertive and aggressive than he was last year," Storm coach Matt Petersen said. "He's a fantastic shooter and when you're that big and get those kind of looks and he hit those shots - he was also perfect from the free-throw line - that's tough for us."