Oliver Gray comes alive in the second half as Barrington beats Jacobs
Barrington junior Oliver Gray is learning to handle life as a star high school basketball player, the marked man on every opponent’s defensive game plan.
Monday in Algonquin he faced a stern test from Jacobs in the quarterfinals of the Hinkle Holiday Classic. The Golden Eagles limited Gray in the first half. He scored seven points and focused on getting his teammates involved.
That changed quickly in the second half. Gray scored on an array of impressive moves in the first three minutes of the third quarter. His burst turned a tied game into a permanent Barrington lead and the Broncos went on to win 67-48.
“My teammates got me the ball in the right spot and I was able to hit the shots,” Gray said. “I wanted to win that game really bad because I want to play Waubonsie Valley if they win [in the quarterfinals]. That would be a great game for us”
Gray opened the third quarter with a three-pointer. He followed that with a turnaround jumper in the lane and on the next possession found Adam Baird with a clever assist. Gray finished the burst with a floater to put the Broncos (6-3) ahead 34-27.
“Oliver was moving well and screening,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “A lot of guys benefitted from the attention they were paying to him. That’s what you have to love about Oliver. He understands the game. He’s a smart kid and is all about team.”
Gray wrapped up his game with a dunk late in the fourth quarter. He scored 22 points. Baird had 10 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Chris Tacher scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for Barrington and Bruce LeBlanc added 13 points and seven rebounds. The Broncos dominated the boards.
Barrington is adjusting to playing without Nick Peipert. The Broncos’ star quarterback was also a captain and key member of the basketball team. He was injured in the first game of the season and will be out for the year.
“We lost that leadership and he can guard all five spots,” Tucker That’s a big loss. Everybody feels bad for Nick but we are moving forward.”
“It’s hard,” Gray said. “He was a really big piece of our team. But we will figure it out.”
Junior Samson Averehi led Jacobs (7-3) with 12 points and senior Emaan Thomas scored 11.