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Fast start propels Bartlett over East Aurora

Tyler Pauletti could afford to joke after scoring a career-high 30 points Friday night in Aurora.

The Bartlett guard had a flawless first quarter, hitting all 7 of his shot attempts in pumping in 16 points in the first alone.

The Hawks hit East Aurora with a 23-0 run in the first quarter in breaking out to an equal number of point lead after one. Bartlett never looked back in its Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division boys basketball game, cruising to a 77-56 win.

Pauletti set the tone in the opening seconds of the game, making a darting move during the center jump, snaring the ball and scoring an uncontested layup.

“Half the time we know our man can't jump,” Pauletti said with a wry smile of teammate Jason Hasenberg. “So we try and steal the tip. We got lucky and got a wide open layup.”

East Aurora (6-14, 0-7) took its only lead of the game on 2 Franklin Montgomery free throws early in the first quarter. But the Hawks (15-10, 3-4), who went 13-for-15 in the first quarter, missed only one shot during their unanswered burst.

Pauletti scored 7 points during the sequence, and Robby Jimenez, who hit all 5 of his shots for the game, added an equal number. Reserve Anthony Ryan had the final field goal — a 3-pointer from the right wing — for Bartlett.

“It was one of the most beautiful quarters I have seen from a high school basketball team,” Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. “I thought Tyler had a phenomenal basketball game. The guys around him played real well, too.”

East Aurora coach Wendell Jenkins fruitlessly burned three timeouts during the Hawks' first quarter.

Montgomery finally ended the Tomcats' drought with an inside score, but Pauletti ended the quarter with a 3-pointer to give Bartlett a 30-7 cushion after the first.

“They're a senior-driven team, and they came ready to play,” Jeffries said of the Hawks.“We didn't come ready to play. It so happened (Pauletti) stepped up tonight. The ballgame was decided in the first quarter.”

Pauletti scored in several different fashions: he drove the lane with abandoned, hit running one-handers along the baseline and displayed perimeter range.

“I was looking to get 30 (points),” Pauletti said. “It's always nice to get an early lead. My shots were falling.”

Jimenez was the only other Bartlett player to eclipse double figures, finishing with 14 points.

“I was just looking for Tyler,” Jimenez said. “Tyler had the hot hand. I was just trying to contribute.”

Bartlett led 39-20 at halftime after building its largest lead of the game — 36-12 — midway through the second quarter.

Montgomery paced three East Aurora players in double digits with 15 points.

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