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Elgin comes back to beat Bartlett

The Elgin boys basketball team turned up the defensive heat and melted a fourth-quarter Bartlett lead like an icicle in the sun.

The Maroons rallied from a 7-point deficit to win 61-56 at Chesbrough Field House Thursday afternoon, though things were not trending in that direction at the outset of the final period.

Bartlett (4-13, 1-5) opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to grab a 45-38 lead, the largest cushion for either team in an Upstate Eight Conference game that featured 17 lead changes, five in the final 2:10.

An inside bucket by Bartlett 6-foot-4 sophomore Alec Palella (game high 17 points), a 3-pointer from senior Austin Gates (16 points) and a putback by 6-4 sophomore Hayden Angell put the Hawks ahead by 7 with 6:02 remaining.

"We came out hard and we took the lead," Palella said. "I thought we had it."

Elgin (5-10, 2-5) fought back, fueled by 8 fourth-quarter points from 5-10 junior guard Xavier Bonds, who finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists.

Elgin regained the lead with 2:10 to play when 6-3 senior Trey Yarber splashed the second of his consecutive 3-pointers, separated by a blocked shot at the defensive end from 6-4 sophomore Jeff Lomax, who boasts a 6-foot, 8-inch wingspan.

Bartlett took its final lead with 49.8 seconds left when 6-3 senior Nick Wolf's interior bounce pass set up Palella for an easy layup.

However, Bonds was fouled at the other end by Gates, who fouled out with 34.4 seconds left. Bonds sank both free throws to give the Maroons the lead for good.

Bartlett inbounded at midcourt after a timeout, but the Elgin pressure got to the Hawks yet again. Bonds knocked the ball out of the hands of the sophomore who replaced Gates and Elgin grabbed the loose ball. Bonds was subsequently fouled on a baseline drive with 11.1 seconds left and sank both shots for a 59-56 Elgin lead.

"We work on it a lot," Bonds said of full-court pressure, "but it wasn't just us. They kind of weren't ready for it. They were rushing things and that's what we wanted them to do."

Bartlett got a good look on its final possession, but Ryan Dunlop's 3-point attempt from the corner would not fall with 4.4 seconds left. Yarber gathered the rebound, was fouled and sank 2 free throws for the final margin.

Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said the game should not have come down to a final shot to tie.

"We can't let that game get to that spot when you've got the lead like that," he said. "We weren't chasing. We were up. That game should have been ours. Credit to Elgin, they played their basketball, they pressured, they jumped our passing lanes."

The comeback win provided a confidence boost for Elgin on the heels of a 1-3 finish at the Marengo holiday tournament.

"It's good to be able to go down like that and still fight back," Elgin first-year coach David Hess said. "It's something we talk about a lot - compete for the whole game."

Yarber finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Lomax scored 13 points, senior Z'Kwan Stewart contributed 3 points and 8 rebounds and 6-5 senior Cameron Muller added 6 points for Elgin, which won the rebounding battle 30-25.

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