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Bartlett works past Wheaton Academy

Once the Bartlett boys basketball reinforcements joined the hot-starting Robby Jimenez, the Hawks proved too tough for Wheaton Academy to contain.

With Jimenez scoring a game-high 23 points Saturday afternoon, Bartlett knocked off the host Warriors 66-57 to finish a perfect 4-0 run to the Wheaton Academy Thanksgiving Tournament title. Even while Jimenez was tallying 11 points in the first quarter and 17 by halftime, the Warriors (2-2) held tight leads and stayed in the game until the fourth quarter.

But the second half saw Bartlett get contributions from all over the court, and the Hawks' height and depth was just too much for Wheaton Academy to contend with for four quarters.

"The second half was probably the best we played in the tournament," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "I thought in the second half we did a better job of not fouling and that led into a better offensive and defensive game."

The Warriors jumped ahead 11-5 following a drive to the rim by Anthony Polinski, who led the hosts on Saturday with 17 points, 14 of which came in the first half. But Jimenez rallied the Hawks to a 17-17 tie with 14 points quick points, capped by a 3-pointer that tied the score with 7:17 left in the first half.

Jimenez added a pair of 3s in the second half, but he couldn't keep up the torrid pace. It didn't matter, however, as Bartlett picked up its defense in the second half and Tyler Pauletti and Jason Hasenberg picked up the scoring.

"My teammates were setting good picks and I had a lot of open shots so I just took them," Jimenez said of his great start. "But we have so many scorers on this team. We can all score in double digits, which you saw…

"Our offense basically takes what the defenses give you."

Pauletti scored 17 points off the bench Saturday and had three baskets in the third quarter, which ended with the Hawks on top 45-41. Hasenberg scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half.

While Bartlett was putting together a solid second half on both ends of the floor, the Warriors struggled to keep up. Missed shots, turnovers and some untimely second-chance opportunities for the Hawks saw the game slip away.

"We were in it for three quarters and we just kind of ran out of punches in the fourth," said first-year Wheaton Academy coach David Osborn, whose team had a chance to claim the tourney title after a double-overtime win over Brother Rice on Friday. "Offensively, we got in a little bit of a slump in the second half. We couldn't get some shots to fall and then we took a few offensive fouls, had a few timely turnovers and we gave up an offensive rebound on a free throw, so it was a combination of things. We just can't have that many things happen and expect to stay into a game when we go into the fourth quarter down four."

RW Rienow had 11 points and freshman Jimmy Paganis 10, joining Polinski to give the Warriors three players scoring in double figures in the game.

"For our team, from where we're at in just the growth and the development of the team, I'm real happy with where we can get," Osborn said. "I'm excited about where we came in four days. There's a lot of work for us to do and we've got to clean some stuff up, but we're happy with the growth so far."

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