The Broncos Basketball Team (10-6) scored an impressive win over conference crossover rival Elk Grove Grenadier on Jan. 4.  

The Broncos had a strong defensive effort early in the first quarter which continued through the second frame, kick-starting the offense.  Junior forward John Schneider recorded a double-double, and sophomore guard Brad Zaumseil contributed 11 points in the 52-34 victory. 

The Grenadiers (4-10) were hoping that the turning of the calendar page for the New Year meant turning a new page in their hard luck start to their season, but Barrington and their tough defense had other ideas.

Barrington held Elk Grove scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the game and it wasn't until the Grenadiers sophomore guard Austin Amann scored that would end the Broncos early 7-0 run.  Amann scored all of Grove's 4 points in the quarter as Barrington was posted to an early 14-4 first quarter lead.  Amann ended tied for a team high 8 points.

Barrington's defensive effort during the first was led by Schneider who was quick to establish an intimidating presence in the lane by blocking two shots early and being physical battling for rebounds.  Schneider ended with 5 blocks and 11 rebounds on the night in route to his double-double.  Schneider also poured in a game high 16 points.

"He does a nice job protecting and covering us on the defensive end," Barrington's coach Bryan Tucker said.  "He did a good job all around tonight."

Schneider's offense awoke during the second quarter and his 8 points, combined with a continued defensive pressure during the second quarter, essentially helped the Broncos put the game away early.  Barrington backed up their impressive first quarter defensive effort by only allowing Elk Grove only six points in the second that helped the Broncos to a 28-10 halftime advantage.     

"Defense was the key all night and we did a nice job of taking them out of what they wanted to do," coach Tucker said following the game.  "You are going to win a lot of games when you can hold teams to ten first half points."

Barrington came out of halftime and continued their defense by contesting shots, rebounding on both ends of the floor and all around hustle.  The loose balls were turned into fast breaks and as the offense continued to move through the hot hand of Schneider he continued to score.  Schneider added 6 in the frame and provided a couple of dunks much to the delight of the Barrington faithful.

The hometown fans were eager to cheer as they haven't had many opportunities to see their Broncos lately.   This was the first home game in almost a month for Barrington and only their third home game of the season, but the wait was worth it.

"It's good to be home," Tucker said of finally playing a home game.

The Grenadiers attempted a modest comeback during the fourth quarter with junior guard Devin Neill leading the way.  Two of his eight points during the game helped Elk Grove to a 10-4 run during the final minutes but Barrington's Brad Zaumseil ended the comeback rally with an aggressive drive.

Slashing through the lane on his way to the basket, an undeterred Zaumseil drew the foul on his shot but was unfortunately unable to convert the foul shot for the three point play.  Zaumseil's value offensively was more than his 11 points indicates as he controlled the tempo and unselfishly set-up teammates helping the Broncos to an easy 52-34 victory.    

"[Zaumseil] creates offense; he can go either direction.  He reads teams as he attacks and stretches teams to get them out of position," Tucker said.  "He can score, but he also finds the open guy."  

In a case of good news/bad news, Barrington finally got a key piece of their team back in uniform with senior guard Greg Gerrard.  His first time back on the court since his Dec. 14^th ankle injury sustained against Jacobs, Gerrard saw limited minutes as he gets back into game shape.  Although Gerrard only scored 4 points he was back to being a nuisance for opposing offenses as well as on the boards.

"[Gerrard] has been out a while," Tucker said.  "We need to ease him back into it and be smart about it."

The bad news for the Broncos is that just when you get one player returning healthy, two others find their way to the bench due to injury.  A pair of senior forwards, Owen Prunskis and Mitchell Smith, now finds themselves sitting on Barrington's injury marry-go-round.  Prunskis is out with a leg injury while Smith sits out with a concussion.

"If a kid gets hurt, another one needs to step right in," Tucker said of the rash of injuries.  "It's just a chance for someone else to step-up."

Barrington's next game is at home against Schaumburg on Friday, Jan. 7. This tough MSL-W conference match-up tips-off at 7:30 p.m.