Swedura, Prospect make their point at Barrington
David Swedura exorcised a couple of demons Wednesday in the Mid-Suburban League boys basketball championship game at Barrington.
Swedura scored 19 points to lead the Knights past Barrington 54-44 for Prospect's first MSL title since 2011.
Swedura was also part of Prospect's team the previous two seasons - teams that fell shor against Conant and Fremd in the league finale.
"Winning this, for sure, was so important," Swedura said. "I am so proud of our guys."
Swedura also knocked down a personal goal when he scored the 1,000th point of his career in the third quarter.
"It is a great feeling to have done this," said Swedura, who was named MSL East player of the year. "I could not have done this without all my teammates."
The result also brought a great sense of relief for Prospect coach John Camardella, whose team has won 10 of its last 11 games.
"It really does feel good," Camardella said. "I feel good for Dave Swedura and these seniors. I texted our seniors from last year on the bus ride over. I just said that they were on my mind and I was thinking about them."
Barrington (21-6) had plenty on its mind as well.
The Broncos played pesky defense, forcing Prospect (21-5) out of its set offense. Out of synch, Prospect converted just 1-of-15 shots from outside the arc.
Barrington was in a nice rhythm offensively, attacking the basket with the play of Jack Reinhard, who scored 9 of his 11 points in the first half. That, plus the outside shooting of Jason Boock, enabled the Broncos to open up a 22-16 lead late in the first half.
Prospect was able to stay close thanks to the inside defensive efforts of Jalen McLachlan.
"We focus on defending," said McLachlan, who finished the game with 4 blocked shots. "My coaches always harp on playing defense. If we don't shoot well, we can't win. So tonight was one of those nights, so I just played defense."
With McLachlan clogging the inside, Prospect was able to get out on top and force a couple of turnovers down the stretch and close within 22-19 at the break.
"Barrington took us out of game with their back-line defense," Camardella said. "It was just a matter of hot, or about to get hot. I have said it and I will say it again: This is the best second-half team I have coached in my career."
Prospect was true to their coach's words as they scored 21 points in the third quarter.
Trailing 24-19, The Knights came out red hot. They hit their first two 3s and continued to fire away. Swedura then nailed a trey, which put him at 1,000 career points, and suddenly it was 30-26 Prospect.
Also heating up for the Knights was Jon Kreidler. The junior, who was held off the scoreboard in the first half, scored all 9 of his points in the third quarter as Prospect opened up a 40-34 lead.
"The first half I was a bit nervous," Kreidler said. "The third quarter I said to myself that I just have to go play. I came out hot and it helped."
Swedura was in cruise control for the Knights in the fourth quarter as Prospect began to spread the floor and milk the clock. Twice Swedura swooped in for layups, and on the third attempt was fouled as Prospect extended its lead to 47-40 with 2:37 to play.
Barrington cut it to 49-44 on a free throw by Anthony Spann with 1:31 to play. Lussenhop, Swedura and Johnny Czeslawski added free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
"This is a great feeling," said Lussenhop, who finished with 15 points. "We weren't matching up well in transition in the first half and that was some of the focal points by the coaches. We just came out with more energy in the second half and shot the ball better."
Czeslawski said the second half was the difference for the Knights.
"We have been a second-half team all year," said Czeslawski, who scored 5 of his 7 points in the second half. "We started out the second half shooting the ball well."
Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said the game turned in the second half.
"It was a tale of two halves," Tucker said. "They came out and hit some shots early and stretch us and spread us out. We couldn't really stop it. Our kids fought, but they really put you in a tough spot."