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Barrington grabs MSL title at Hersey

Barrington's Rapolas Ivanauskas proudly held the Mid-Suburban League championship trophy.

Like the 16 rebounds he grabbed Wednesday night, he wouldn't let it go.

And no wonder, since a Barrington boys basketball team had not won the MSL title since 1979.

Ivanauskas and the Broncos secured the an overall conference triumph with a strong fourth quarter, pulling away from Hersey 62-44 before a near-packed Ken Carter Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

Ivanauskas showed why he is the top player in the conference, scoring 24 points to go with all his rebounds. He also had 3 blocks and a steal and was a force on both ends of the court.

"The game was really physical," said Ivanauskas, who was sporting a bandage on the corner of his left eye. "We are really proud to be bringing the trophy to Barrington. This was one of our goals when we started the season."

Barrington coach Bryan Tucker was excited for his first MSL title. He had a team come close four years ago, but the Broncos fell to Prospect in the championship game.

As for that 1979 team, well . . .

"These kids weren't even born," Tucker said. "It is amazing. We really did not talk about it. This is all for the kids now."

It appeared that Barrington (22-6) would make it look easy in the first quarter.

Behind Ivanauskas' 9 rebounds, the Broncos led 15-5 after one quarter.

"I came in try and get some points," Ivanauskas said. "I knew if I could get some offensive rebounds, I could score."

Hersey (17-9) soon showed why it was the MSL East champion.

The Huskies pressured Barrington into 12 first-half turnovers and seven in the second quarter.

Led by Max Heeren and Payton Haas, Hersey closed to 28-25 at the half on a basket by Heeren.

"Our kids always play hard," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "We wanted to pressure them and get them to turn the ball over. And that worked for three and a half quarters."

Hersey tied the game at 30-30 on a 3-point basket by Joe Coffaro early in the third quarter.

The Huskies took the lead at 35-32 on another 3-pointer by Mike Lelito with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

Barrington countered with 7 unanswered points to take the lead for good.

Chris Lester, who finished with 11 points, had a nice drive to the basket.

Scott Bennett, who finished with a career-high 16 points, had a putback followed by Ivanauskas' huge offensive rebound that turned into 3-point play to make it 39-35 with 50.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

"I got some good, easy shots at the rim," Bennett said. "That really helped elevate my game and I began to make some shots from the outside."

Barrington put it all together in the fourth quarter to put the clamps on that trophy.

The Broncos turned up their game on both ends of the court, limiting Hersey's looks at the baskets while not turning the ball over on the offensive end.

"I felt that our defense picked up and that got us running a little bit," Tucker said. "That got us flowing in the offense and we weren't turning it over as much."

Barrington led 43-39 when Tristen Becker nailed a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor giving the visitors a 59-39 lead with 6:29 to play.

"How about Tristen Becker?" Tucker said. "He has been fighting and fighting and it was nice to see him see the benefits of that hard work. It changed it from a 10-point game like that."

After that, Barrington began to pull away behind Ivanauskas and Lester, who began to handle the ball more in the fourth quarter.

"I think of myself as another guard on this team," said Lester, who is 6-foot-6. "I am going to go off to college and play shooting guard, so this is not abnormal for me."

Becker had 8 points for the Broncos, who welcomed Ben Weber back to the lineup. He played sparingly despite having his appendix removed just a week ago.

Heeren led the Huskies with 10 points. Coffaro had 9 points while Lelito and Josh Mailoux each had 6 points. Haas finished with 5 points.

"I would have liked to see us shoot a little bit better from the field and at the free throws line," said Messer, whose team was 4 of 22 outside the arc and just 8 of 17 from the free throw line. "There were also some loose ball rebounds that we could have got that would have made a difference. But credit Barrington, they hit their shots when they needed them."

Images: Hersey vs. Barrington, boys basektball

  Barrington's Rapolas Ivanauskas, left, gets fouled by Hersey's Max Heeren during Wednesday's Mid-Suburban League championship game in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Chris Lester holds the trophy high as he celebrates the Mid-Suburban League championship with teammates including Justin Hennenfent following Wednesday's game against Hersey in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hersey's Max Heeren is denied under the basket by Barrington's Chris Lester, left, and Jake Orr during Wednesday's Mid-Suburban League championship game in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Rapolas Ivanauskas, left, drives to the basket as Hersey's Payton Haas defends during Wednesday's Mid-Suburban League championship game in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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