Sycamore nets regionally sweetened revenge

Sycamore's Anthony Bomar (55) glides in for an easy layup as DeKalb's Mike Haigh (34) can only watch during Wednesday night's 52-39 Spartan victory in the IHSA Class AA Belvidere Regional semifinal. Bomar scored a game-high 21 points to help SHS avenge a 44-29 regular-season loss to the Barbs just 19 days ago. Sycamore now advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. championship game against Rockford Jefferson. Chronicle photo HOLLY LUNDH

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BELVIDERE - Nineteen days later, Sycamore High School followed the gameplan laid out for DeKalb High School. Back on Valentine's Day, the Spartans bungled every aspect of coach Brett Goff's carefully planned scheme, losing by 15 points to the Barbs. Wednesday night, Sycamore had no such problems executing its strategy to record a 52-39 victory over DeKalb in the 2004 Illinois High School Association Belvidere High School Class AA Regional. As a result, the Spartans march forward to Friday's 7:30 p.m. regional title game against Rockford Jefferson High School. Sycamore advanced by not letting the Barbs dictate the tempo while looking for good shots and playing aggressive defense. "Our gameplan going into the first game was to play zone, but they got an early lead," Goff said. "We emphasized all week about getting out to a quick start because DeKalb's so patient. Our guys did a good job. We also tried to shut down the inside and hopefully their guards weren't hitting." In the first meeting, Sycamore shot a nightmarish 22 percent, but finished a reasonable 39 percent (16-of-41) on Wednesday. Anthony Bomar scored a game-high 21 points and reserve sophomore Reid Barringer stroked two three-pointers as part of his 11-point contribution. Andrew Gones scored just nine points, but was happy to give Goff his first win over the Barbs. "I was just happy we won," he said. "It's been a long time. They're a really good team. This is a big win for us." Right from the opening tip, the Spartans were clearly the more aggressive team. Sycamore's two-three zone limited the passing lanes to the post. Mike Haigh, a two-time unanimous Upstate Eight All-Conference selection, finished with 11 points. The 6-foot-6 power forward didn't attempt a field goal for a 10:23 stretch in the second half. "They always had one person on me and a help-side player," Haigh noted. "Their coach had a great gameplan and they executed it well." The Barbs, who shot 50 percent in the regular season battle with the Spartans, were able to hit just three of their first nine shots on Wednesday. For the game, they made un-Barblike 34 percent (15-of-44) and were a dreadful 19 percent from beyond the three-point line (5-of-26). "We weren't as patient as we used to be from the outside," said DHS coach Chuck Schramm. "We were in the game until the fourth, but then we started forcing shots and took shots out of rhythm. Sycamore gave that extra effort to make us shoot quicker than what we wanted to." For three quarters, DeKalb-Sycamore II was set to join a long line of last-second battles between the two rivals. The large crowd arrived early in anticipation of a heated contest with the parking lot filled 30 minutes before the tip-off. The Spartans led 13-10 before the Barbs erupted for eight unanswered points to take an 18-13 edge with 1:56 left until halftime. Haigh contributed a block, lay-up and assist to Drew Carlson to shift the momentum back to the Barbs. However, the Spartans absorbed the run - plus a 1-of-10 start to the second quarter - and scored the last six points of the half to regain the lead at 19-18 following Gones' double-pump 11-footer and subsequent free throw. Goff indicated the late rush injected the Spartans with a shot of confidence. "That gave us a lot of momentum, we didn't want to be five to six down to DeKalb," Goff said. The third quarter turned into a battle of hot potato, as the lead changed hands six times. Dane Male, who knocked down four treys for a team-high 12 points, gave the Barbs their final advantage of the game (28-27) with his second three of the quarter. Goff's decision to utilize Barringer, Gones and Bomar in the line-up paid dividends in the final 10 minutes. Barringer buried a trey to hand the Spartans a 30-28 lead heading into the fourth. Sycamore then forced three straight turnovers and started attacking the basket, with Barringer keying a 5-0 run by hitting three free throws. When asked about putting Barringer, Gones and Bomar together on the court , Goff had the perfect answer. "Since it was working, we stayed with it," Goff said. "If it's not broken, don't fix it." The storm clouds were everywhere for the Barbs, as their guards started getting frustrated by the fast pace of the game, shooting quick shots and not getting the ball inside. The faster tempo fed into the waiting arms and legs of Bomar, who scored 10 points in the fourth. The junior started the quarter off with a basket, added a 12-foot fade-away jumper and free throw for an old-fashioned three-pointer, added three more charity tosses and ended any speculation of a DHS comeback on a rim-rocking, fastbreak dunk with 51 ticks remaining for a 50-37 lead. The point guard revealed he was happy to finally push the ball. "It felt good to get on the break," Bomar said. Not surprisingly, Bomar was carted off the court on the shoulders of a fan during the postgame party. Now, the fifth-seeded Sycamore Spartans move forward to tackle Rockford Jefferson. "We've seen them play twice and they're like DeKalb," Goff said. "They have a lot of size and are athletic. We don't matchup well with them." Whereas the Spartans get the added bonus of playing in the regional finals, the Barbs close the 2003-04 season with a 16-12 record and fifth-place UEC mark of 8-6. The loss marked the end of DHS starters Haigh, Male, Eddie Nealey and Todd Perez along with key reserves Josh Rossduetcher, Joey Emanuelson and Steve Beverly. The Barbs managed to conclude the regular season with three straight conference road wins, beating Streamwood, Elgin and East Aurora High Schools. They also defeated Lake Park High School on the road and earned second place in the Chuck Dayton Tournament. "This was a season of ups and downs," Haigh said. "We didn't go as far as we liked. We should have gone further. We had some great ups this season, beating two top 30 teams. That gives the seniors something positive to look back on."