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Late free throw shooting lifts Barrington

Barrington's boys basketball used the free throw line to register its Mid-Suburban West victory at Schaumburg on Friday night.

The Broncos won despite not scoring a basket in the final 6:33. They also had a complete scoring drought in that stretch that lasted nearly five minutes.

But Barrington was sound at the foul line, scoring its final 9 points there in a 52-45 victory.

After Jackson Perkins' putback gave the visiting Broncos a 43-39 lead at the 6:33 mark of the final period, they went on to miss their final 7 shots.

However, thanks to going 9-for-10 at the foul line in the final 1:41, Barrington shut out the Saxons in the final 2:19 to overcome a 45-43 deficit.

Schaumburg's final points came when freshman guard Heze Trotter grabbed his fifth rebound and drove to the basket for a bucket.

"Our kids really stepped up tonight," said Barrington coach Brian Tucker. "We were too tentative last time (in a 46-39 home loss Dec. 18). We did a better job of handling their defensive shift.

"I was impressed on how we were able to find a way to win despite being unable to score a basket. It's from tough games like this where you can learn valuable lessons."

One of the ways the Broncos (13-12, 3-6) found a way to prevail was through the leadership of senior Ben Weber. The 6-foot-1 guard paced the winning effort with a game-high 23 points.

He went 6-for-12 from the floor, including four 3-pointers and most importantly a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Weber accounted for Barrington's final 6 points in the final 45 seconds of the game.

"We've learned a lot about ourselves this season," Weber said. "One of those things is that we have a lot of heart, another is how hard we work.

"Our recent successes (such as a 56-51 win at Hoffman Estates last week) have come as a result of two great weeks of practice. (Coach) Tucker always gives us a challenge by preaching to us to give a 100 percent effort every time we either practice or play. We may not be the most talented team out there, but we will always play hard and that's a good thing."

That hardworking mantra was came into play with 51 seconds left after a Brett Budzak free throw gave Barrington the lead for good at 46-45. Sophomore Jackson Perkins rebounded the second attempt and fed the ball to Weber, who was fouled and proceeded to convert the clinching free throws.

Perkins finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds (including 5 in the fourth quarter).

"I was real pleased with our ability to snap up the basketball," Tucker, referring to his team's 10-4 rebounding advantage in the final quarter. "You get tested in every MSL West game you play. There is no off night.

"Added to the tough nonconfererence slate we play (losses to Geneva, Rockford Boylan and MSL East front-runner Prospect plus splitting with Jacobs) it prepares you for regionals."

Juniors Aaron Kline (15 points) and Kameron Powell (11 points) paced Schaumburg (5-20, 2-7).

"I want give credit to our kids who I thought responded well to Barrington's physicality," said first-year Saxons coach Wade Heisler. "We had a lot of good looks but the ball didn't go down for us. There's a lot of things that are going right for us and there are a lot of things that are going wrong with us as well.

"We have to make those shots when we need to at the close of games. We play hard, and as we go forward I still feel like that there's a belief that we can turn this thing around going into hosting regionals."

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