Broncos face first-place battle with Saxons

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Barrington-01/14/12, Sat./Barrington High School #12 Scott Nelson, of Barrington with the hoop vs. Fremd Saturday night during game play. | Joe Shuman~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:16AM

At Saturday’s Barrington boys basketball game, a handful of folks in the crowd went home happy after winning toy monster trucks in a special raffle.

A majority of those in attendance also departed with a sense of satisfaction after seeing the Broncos (12-6, 4-1) defeat Fremd 61-41 to remain tied with Schaumburg atop the MSL West.

The mood inside the gym had been much different four days earlier, when Grant stepped in and beat Barrington 74-68.

The setback had led to some soul-searching inside the locker room of a Barrington team enjoying a fine season.

“We came together as a team and talked about what we needed to work on, which were (playing with) energy and being focused and ready to play,” Broncos junior guard Scott Nelson said. “Against Grant, we just kind of came out flat, not ready, and they took it to us. This game we made sure to make an effort to be aggressive and take the initiative.”

Barrington wasted little time seizing control of the game as it held Fremd (10-8, 3-2) without a first-quarter field goal and led 17-4 after eight minutes. The lead was trimmed to nine at halftime as the Vikings outscored the home team 16-11 in the second quarter.

But the Barrington scored the first basket of the third quarter and never let its advantage dip below double-digits after that. The Broncos maintained a 15-point edge for much of the game’s final 12 minutes

Nelson scored a season-high 16 points to lead Barrington’s balanced attack, senior John Schneider had eight points in just his second game back from injury, senior guard Ryan Carroll delivered eight points off the bench and senior reserve guard Jackson Wegner scored seven points.

Point guard Brad Zaumseil had just five points, well below his team-leading 16 ppg average. But Barrington head coach Bryan Tucker said the junior had been instrumental in much of what the Broncos did offensively.

“(Zaumseil) had five points in the book, but I feel like he dominated the game,” Tucker said. “He had five points to his name, but a lot of other points could be attributed to him, as well. He distorted the game and got us a lot of baskets, which can’t go overlooked.

“(Zaumseil) is a smart player. They are going to get into him (defensively), take away his scoring. He’s just going to read what’s there. He sees the floor so well.”

Nelson was the beneficiary of multiple Zaumseil assists.

“It’s amazing playing with (Zaumseil). He finds any open guy, even if they are only slightly open. He gets you so many open shots,” Nelson said.

Against Grant, Barrington added a sizable target for Zaumseil’s passes when the 6-foot-7 Schneider made his second appearance of the season after being out with a broken finger.

Schneider, who has committed to Western Illinois, also was slowed by illness during the Grant game. The senior spent some time on the bench in foul trouble against Fremd, but still managed to grab five rebounds and block two shots to go with his eight points.

Schneider no doubt will be more of a difference-maker as he continues to get comfortable with the pace of the game.

“His size, his ability to block shots, his presence, changes things on the court for us,” Tucker said. “I think he’s adjusting to the speed and flow of a game. He broke the pinky on his non-shooting hand, so he still was able to get up shots and keep his legs somewhat. I think it’s just kind of getting everything back, speed-of-the-game stuff. I think that’s the biggest adjustment. But I think he’s already feeling more comfortable on the court.”

Barrington will host Schaumburg at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with the top spot in the conference on the line. Zaumseil hit a buzzer-beater to win the first matchup between the teams on Dec. 16.

The game also is the second half of a doubleheader that will begin with a wrestling match between Barrington and Schaumburg (5:30 p.m.).