Bartlett topples South Elgin

The Bartlett boys basketball team opened its 75-60 win at rival South Elgin with the focus of an archer after waiting two and a half months for payback.

Bartlett (17-10, 5-4 Upstate Eight Valley) hit bull's-eye after bull's-eye in the first half to build a 14-point halftime lead.

Before intermission the Hawks shot 16 of 23 from the field and 8 of 11 from 3-point range, led by 6-foot-4 forward Robby Jimenez. The senior connected on 5 of 6 first-half attempts from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 21-points.

"I just try to shoot with confidence," Jimenez said. "If I get an open look, I just try to have a clear conscience while I'm shooting. They were just all falling in."

The Hawks benefitted from a pair of first-half 3-pointers by senior guard Ben Reyes (11 points) and another from senior forward Jason Hasenberg.

Bartlett's perimeter shooting prowess forced the South Elgin defense to creep further out. When the Storm switched to a box-and-one defense in the second half to slow Jimenez, it had a ripple effect. Hasenberg got loose inside for 20 points, 6-foot-6 senior forward Brett Awalt scored 10 points in the lane and senior Tyler Pauletti posted up for 9 points to go with 6 assists.

"Once they started trapping (Jimenez) and running box-and-one on him, that really opened it up and showed that you can't just play one person or double one person," Hasenberg said, "We've got a good team and everybody can score."

South Elgin (11-15, 3-6) trailed 56-45 after three quarters but quickly trimmed the deficit to 56-50 on a 3-pointer by Anthony Lynch, followed by a Logan Atkins bucket with 6:48 left.

However, after a Bartlett turnover Pauletti made a steal near midcourt and took it the distance for a layup to ignite a decisive 13-4 run that sealed the Upstate Eight Valley win and gave the Hawks a split of the 2-game season series. South Elgin won 52-44 in Bartlett on Dec. 4.

"It was too big a ladder to climb and the kids ran out of energy because we were going so hard at them," South Elgin coach Jim Cook said.

The Bartlett victory, combined with losses by first-place teams Glenbard East (15-12, 6-3) and West Chicago (19-6, 6-3), draws the Hawks within a game of the UEC Valley lead with one game to play against West Aurora (8-16, 5-4) next Wednesday.