Bartlett wins 2nd straight at Jacobs

At halftime of Bartlett's matchup against Marian Central Catholic Thursday at the 17th annual Hinkle Holiday Classic, it sure didn't seem like Drew Martin was on his way to a career game.

The Bartlett senior had all of zero points. But the offense came fast and furious for him in the second half, starting with a drive, then a 3-pointer, another basket and another 3.

By the time the third quarter ended, Martin had scored 13 of his team's 16 points. He then scored the Hawks' first six of the fourth quarter to finish with a career-high 19 points in Bartlett's 62-49 victory.

"Streaky game," Martin said. "Second half, everything just clicked for me after the first layup I had. I just zoned in."

Bartlett (7-6) got off to a sizzling start, making its first seven shots from the field, much to the ire of Hurricanes coach Jim Sarther.

"Defensively we did not come ready to play," Sarther said. "The big thing we've been stressing all year is to get back in transition and stop dribble penetration and we didn't do any of that at the start."

Down 23-12, Marian Central (4-5) rallied behind 6-foot-8 center Sam Ohlrich, who led both teams with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

The Hurricanes never completely recovered from the slow start, trailing 30-26 at halftime and 46-37 after three.

The Hawks were extremely patient on offense, often taking a minute or more off the clock. Much to Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith's pleasure, many of those long possessions ended in great looks, including Martin's drive for a 50-39 lead early in the fourth.

Martin immediately followed with a steal and layup, and the Hawks led by double digits the rest of the way.

"We weren't just eating clock. We were eating clock and scoring," Wolfsmith said. "We have to know that if we get up on a team, our offense is designed to kill time, get them spread out, and open up lanes to cut and drive. I said to them at halftime, unless they change the way they do defense, we could run seven minutes off the clock in the third quarter and get the last shot. I was really impressed with the way our kids controlled the ball and the way our bench kids controlled the ball down the stretch."

Ben Tompson matched Martin with 19 points. Ben Fisher scored 11 and Austin Gates had 8.

"Just a good team win," Wolfsmith said.