The historical perspective of Barrington’s sectional title Friday night at Prospect was not lost on its players, none of whom had even been born the last time the Broncos advanced this far in the state playoffs.
“The kids know about it, but we didn’t talk about it a whole lot,” Barrington coach Mike Obsuszt said. “To be honest, we kind of want to live in the moment and enjoy right now.”
It may have taken some time, but the Broncos (24-6) are enjoying their moment of glory. Scott Schmitz, a 6-foot-7-inch senior, scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to help Barrington build a big early lead, then fight off a late Lake Zurich rally and claim a 59-46 victory.
The win vaults Barrington into Tuesday’s Loyola supersectional against Highland Park, only the Broncos’ third appearance in the state’s Sweet 16 in 25 years and first since 1979.
“We all knew that the last time Barrington was able to do this was late in the ’70s,” said Broncos guard Kyle Patterson, who scored 15 points. “We figured it was about time.”
The Broncos set the tempo for the contest immediately, pushing the ball inside to Schmitz, who hit his first six shots. By the time he put back an offensive rebound with 2:30 remaining in the half, Barrington led 29-19. The Broncos took a 34-21 lead at halftime.
They pushed the lead to 38-21 with 6:29 left in the third on two quick Schmitz baskets before the Bears (23-6) made things interesting. Lake Zurich held Barrington scoreless for the next 4:48 and used a 12-2 run to cut the gap to 40-33 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.
Patterson’s three to open the fourth put Barrington up 45-33 and Lake Zurich again trimmed the advantage to 45-37 with 6:45 to play. But the Broncos went on an 11-0 run over the next 4:43, hitting 6-of-6 free throws to lead 56-37 with 2:02 remaining, all but ending the contest.
“Last year we went Downstate and watched what [eventual state champ] Schaumburg did,” said Schmitz, who also had seven rebounds and four blocks on the night. “And we had them earlier in the season. From then on we knew that if we played our game, no one could stop us.”
Brad Rathe led the Bears with 20 points, while Brett Mathisen added 11 to go with six rebounds.
