The Patriots defeated the Barrington Broncos by 64-55 in overtime Feb. 27 securing themselves a spot in the sectional finals this Friday. The win was Stevenson’s sixth on the bounce as they look to make a run for the state in the coming weeks.
The night began in a way neither team was looking for, with a 45-minute tornado warning delay. However, both teams jumped into the game quickly with the score knotted at 8 a piece for the opening three minutes of the game. Jack Dabbs ’24 continued his great run as he made two threes in the game’s opening quarter and as it came to a close Stevenson had the early lead of 15-13.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Patriots with Aidan Bardic ’25, Rocco Pagliocca ’26, and Armand Burris ’24 finding their groove. Despite efforts from Oliver Gray, who had 10 in the first half, Stevenson led 26-20 thanks to a nice find from Bardic to Atticus Richmond ’25 who finished at the basket.
The beginning of the second half was more of the same for the Patriots and after a Richmond slam, they led 33-24. The Broncos refused to give up however and tallied four points before the quarters closed and cut the deficit to 33-28.
Barrington built off that momentum in the fourth when Gray hit a contested three making it a one-possession game with 5:32 to go. With the student section hyped, Barrington clawed their way back, Adam Baird made his only three of the night count, and Stevenson led by only two with only 1:52 left to play.
After some more back and forth between the two sides, the Broncos’ Nick Peipert stepped up converting all nine of his free throws on the night including four in the dying minutes of the game. Just like that, the score was knotted at 50-50 and the teams were overtime bound in Elgin.
However, once in overtime, the Patriots seized control of the game as Burris made a clutch and-1 layup, and after a missed free throw and Stevenson’s offensive board, Dabbs put in an easy layup making it a two-possession game. Richmond threw down his second dunk of the night with authority securing Stevenson’s 64-55 win. The Patriots had five guys with double figures for the game.
“It was a next-man-up mentality, this was a team win,” Dabbs said. “Credit to all my teammates and Benson for getting the job done tonight and helping us win these games.”
The Patriots have been no strangers to overtime this season as this win improves their record to 10-2 when games cannot be decided in regulation. Coach Will Benson credits the team’s ability to persevere during crunch time.
“I said to them that it doesn’t matter how we got here, we’re here,” Benson said. “We just took it possession by possession and our guys did a really good job of striking first.”
Stevenson will face either Lake Zurich or Palatine on Friday, Mar. 1 depending on who wins in their matchup on Feb. 28. The Patriots faced Lake Zurich twice during the regular season where the series was split.
“We will come out and scout the Lake Zurich and Palatine game tomorrow night,” Benson said. “But tomorrow we will just worry about us.”
Dabbs finished the night with 17 points, seven rebounds, a block, and a steal. He believes that Stevenson is well prepared for the challenges they are yet to face.
“It’s been repetition throughout the season.” Dabbs said. “All of our games have been close so we are prepared for this postseason.”
