Barrington shuts down Hoffman Estates
Barrington broke Hoffman Estates Tuesday.
Barrington fired up and over Hoffman's zone defense and then played solid defense of its own for a 57-31 Mid- Suburban West boys basketball win Tuesday in Barrington.
"That was the key, to get them to play out of their comfort zone," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "Tonight it worked out."
The win gave Barrington a split for the season series with Hoffman (19-5, 5-3), which is now a game back of Barrington and Palatine in the division.
With two games remaining in conference play, the MSL West picture is still unclear. Barrington (20-4, 6-2) is even with Palatine in the standings after Palatine (6-2) lost to Fremd 42-40 Tuesday.
Barrington plays Conant on Friday and Palatine hosts Hoffman that same night. Then Barrington, which beat Palatine earlier this season, travels to play at Palatine a week from Friday.
On Tuesday, Barrington used its defense took care of its business to stay in the race.
The Broncos forced 6 turnovers in Hoffman's first 7 positions. That led to 8 consecutive points for Barrington and the Broncos were on their way.
"We were really happy the way our kids came out and defended," said Tucker, whose team forced 19 turnovers for the game.
"We felt that that was the key. We are here because of the way we defend."
Hoffman Estates was able to chip away and close to 10-6 early in the second when Barrington began to surge over the Hawks' zone.
"It was great to see those first ones go in, " said the Broncos' Daniel Hong, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early. "It really settled my mind. Tucker has a lot of confidence in me and my teammates. After the first time we played them, we didn't hit many shots. That had a big impact on their defensive mindset."
The Broncos went on a 10-0 run with 3-pointers from Evan Jno-Baptiste and Will Grudzinski to open up a 20-6 lead.
Barrington, which hit 6 3-pointers in the first half, took a 30-14 lead at the break.
The Broncos then were able to run their offense efficiently in the second half. Grudzinski, who missed some of the third quarter when he twisted an ankle, returned to the court late in the quarter. His dunk just before the buzzer put the game away with a 36-21 lead.
"I think I came out slow," said Grudzinski, who finished with 23 points after scoring just 2 in the first quarter,
"They were doubling me. Knowing that I have my teammates, it helps just moving around. Someone is always going to be open."
Hong, who had 4 3-pointers, finished with 14 points. Nick Bordenet had 7 points, Jon-Baptiste 5 points and Nate Boldt had 4 points and 6 rebounds.
Hoffman was led by Darien Irvin, who had 8 points while Mike and Nick Vuckovic each had 7 points.
"I don't think we match their effort and energy today," Hoffman Estates coach Peter McBride said. "I think they took care of the controllable aspects of the game better than we did. And I thought we got outworked for four quarters."