Bartlett’s Gio Scivittaro knows he wasn’t just handed his varsity spot.
The sophomore guard had to earn it. Once he did, he also gained the trust of coach Jim Wolfsmith, who likes to play the hot hand late in games.
Scivittaro had that hot hand Friday night at South Elgin.
“I’m very grateful for him trusting me in those times,” Scivittaro said. “I’m very confident in myself. I made some mistakes, but in the end, we did what we needed to do and pulled away and won.”
Scivittaro was in the middle of everything for the Hawks in the fourth quarter of a 43-40 Upstate Eight Conference victory.
His 3-point play early in the quarter gave Bartlett a 34-33 lead. He later hit a three to force a 37-37 tie. He also had a big steal down the stretch as the Hawks finally pulled away for the win.
Scivittaro, Nathan Scearce and Colin Taylor scored nine points apiece to pace Bartlett (14-11, 10-4). Derek Clark led all scorers with 14 points for South Elgin (13-12, 11-4).
With Scivittaro providing lockdown defense, Wolfsmith didn’t hesitate to give the him big minutes during crunchtime in a rivalry game on the road.
“The difference-maker was Gio Scivittaro,” Wolfsmith said. “He hit a couple big shots, played great defense. He really busted his butt out there. That was a heck of a game by that young man.
“Traditionally we try to come down with rotations in games, but I’ve got eight guys I trust at the end of the game. It comes down to who I think is playing the best on both ends of the floor. Those were Gio’s minutes because he was balling out.”
In acclimating himself to the varsity level, Scivitarro has taken full advantage of his ability to work with Scearce.
“He’s someone to look up to,” Scivittaro said. “He’s a player you don’t really get to see too often. I’m very grateful to be around him. I worked hard for this, to get here, and I’m very grateful for it.”
Scearce didn’t have one of his signature scoring performances Friday.
He did, however, play every minute, hit three free throws in the closing stages and grabbed the rebound off a purposely missed free throw to dribble the clock out.
“He’s a great team player,” Scivittaro said. “He thinks of his team first. He just trusts us, and I’m very glad he can. We trust him a lot.”
What’s stood out to Wolfsmith about Scivittaro is his relentless work ethic on the court.
“He brings energy, great defense, great hustle,” Wolfsmith said. “That kind of energy, that kid just never stops. He’s one of the hardest workers we’ve got.”
South Elgin rallied from a slow start to lead by three midway through the fourth quarter.
The Storm never led again, however, as Bartlett pulled away. Brendan Campbell put back a rebound for the Hawks with 3:35 left that proved to be the game-winner.
“Offensively, this has been our issue, and some of our guys need to buy in and trust the system,” South Elgin coach Philip Church said. “That’s what a regional atmosphere is like.
“You have to be efficient with the ball, and we were not efficient.”
Scivitarro found himself in a hostile environment in a close game. He handled it well, and now the Hawks hope to use that momentum moving forward.
“It’s like a roller coaster,” Scivitarro said. “The crowd is yelling at you the whole time. This is huge. Last year they beat us twice. They already beat us at home. For us to win here, we’re riding high.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
