Streamwood notches defensive win over Hawks
Streamwood students and spectators flooded their home court Friday night for 'Pack the Place' expecting to see a high-scoring shootout as the boys basketball team faced off against Upstate Eight Conference opponent Bartlett.
What they didn't realize was that the Sabres' defense had arrived, full force.
Holding the Hawks to a season-low 40 points, Streamwood collected the 53-40 upset, defeating Bartlett for the first time since Valentine's Day of the 2003-04 season.
Perhaps it was the Sock Hop slated to begin after the game that gave the Sabres that extra bounce they needed early. Whatever the case, rebounding proved to be crucial as Streamwood crashed the boards for 15 first half grabs while holding Bartlett to just 5.
Derrick King and Tem Esikiel combined for 20 rebounds, and with both teams a little off from the field in the first half, second chances unquestionably helped Streamwood to a pair of early runs.
The first of those two runs came in the first quarter when Marcus Green (7 points) converted on a 3-point play after drawing the foul on a layup. Streamwood (8-10, 2-5) followed with 5 more unanswered buckets to take a 14-3 lead on the 11-0 run.
Late in the second quarter, the Sabres sparked up a 9-2 run to go up 30-13 before taking a 34-17 lead into the break.
"I'm real happy with the way we played that first half," said Streamwood coach Tim Jones. "I was really pleased with rebounding. We didn't allow a lot of second chances. It was a great defensive effort overall, but rebounding really helped our cause."
Struggling to break the Sabre defense down, Bartlett (10-7, 2-3) relied heavily on senior guard Marc Little who, scored 15 of the Hawks' 17 first-half points.
"Streamwood played phenomenal defense," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. "They did a real good job keeping us off the glass. Marc can score and he did, but we were chasing them from the get go. You can't chase a team on the road."
Little finished with 21 points to lead all scorers.
The third quarter rendered little offense and while things were even in the fourth, the damage had been done. Esikiel finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Streamwood, and King (10 rebounds) added 7 pooints. Marcus Lewis (4 steals) led the Streamwood offense with 14 points.
"We did enough where we had to," said Jones. "We had a lot of contributors. That is what team is all about. It was a nice win, and the kids deserved it."
For Bartlett, Larry Whitaker pulled down 7 rebounds, and Tim Rendall added 5 points.
"Our lack of fundamentals on offense and defense cost us," Wolfsmith said. "You can't have a combination of bad fundamental offense and bad fundamental defense and expect to win a game."
Box score
Streamwood 53, Bartlett 40
Bartlett - Cleope 1 0-0 3, Little 8 4-5 21, Rendall 2 0-0 5, Whitaker 0 1-4 1, Roszkowiak 1 0-0 2, Labedzki 2 0-0 4, Partyka 2 0-2 4. Totals 16 5-11 40.
Streamwood - Kiesel 1 0-0 3, Braver 2 0-0 5, Ofiana 0 0-0 0, Esikiel 3 5-8 11, Lewis 5 3-4 14, Domokos 3 0-0 6, Greene 3 1-1 7, King 3 1-2 7. Totals 20 10-15 53.
Bartlett 5 12 11 12 -40
Streamwood 14 20 7 12 -53
3-point baskets: B: Cleope, Little, Rendall; S: Kiesel, Braver, Lewis.
Fouled out: None.