Hononegah overtakes Barrington in second half
Barrington led Hononegah 36-23 at halftime Saturday afternoon at the Tom Mueller boys basketball Thanksgiving tournament at Crystal Lake Central.
The Broncos held a 17-12 rebounding edge and scored 13 points off 6 Indians turnovers. Barrington had 2 turnovers, giving up no points off them.
However, the second half was a nightmare for Barrington, which lost to the 3-0 Indians 54-53.
"Things that went right for us in the first half all went wrong for us in the second half," said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker. "They did a nice job adjusting to our defense in the second half. They made some clutch shots. We just had some breakdowns that we should not have had."
Barrington's Nate Boldt scored 9 of his 13 points in the first half. Nick Bordenet and Will Grudzinski each scored 7 in the first two quarters.
The Broncos would score just 17 points in the second half as their record dropped to 2-1.
"With our team, we've been getting off to good starts because our defense plays very hard," said Grudzinski, who led Barrington with 14 points. "Once we get up on an opponent we need to take our time taking our shots."
Being outscored 14-8 in the third quarter, Barrington still led 44-37 going into the fourth quarter.
Brandon Beck and Braydon Savitsky-Lynde then began to heat it up for Hononegah. Beck started the quarter with a 3-pointer while Savitsky-Lynde hit 3 straight baskets.
With 30 seconds left in the game, Barrington's Evan Jno-Baptiste hit 1 of 2 free throws for a 53-51 lead. A free throw by Savitsky-Lynde closed the gap to 53-52 with 28 ticks left.
A missed Bronco free throw was rebounded by Beck, who then drove the lane and scored with 6 seconds left. It was the only lead the Indians had in the game.
A last-ditch 3-point try by Donovan Nichols missed as the buzzer sounded.
"We had chances to fold the tent in the first half," said Hononegah coach Mike Miller. "But, our kids never did that. It took some of our young players to get used to how physical Barrington plays. We stopped making turnovers and settled into our offense."
Beck led the Indians with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Point guard Owen Hart added 14 points and 5 assists. Savitsky-Lynde added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Boldt finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds for Barrington, while Bordenet added 8 points.
"It's early in the year and this was a great opportunity to see where we have to go as a team," said Tucker.
"As long as we work hard and share the ball everything will be OK," said Grudzinski. "We need to prove that we can come back tomorrow after a tough loss."