Shubh Mangrola shows Bartlett the way to go against Batavia. The end result? ‘I just have to play my game.’

Shubh Mangrola only knows one way to play for Bartlett. And that suits him just fine.

The senior guard has been the spark off the bench this season for the Hawks, and in games like Wednesday night against Batavia, that can turn out to be very important.

With Bartlett stuck in the mud offensively for 3 1/2 quarters, the boost provided by Mangrola was just what the team needed, particularly on the defensive end.

“My coach gives me the confidence to go out there and play my style, which is pressuring the guy,” Mangrola said. “I don’t care if I’m tired. I just have to play my game.”

With Bartlett trailing by six points midway through the fourth quarter, Mangrola’s intensity flipped the game around for a 57-49 win in the Class 4A Addison Trail Regional semifinals.

Turning defense into offense, Mangrola had two steals and scored six points during a decisive 16-1 burst as Bartlett (20-12) rallied for the victory.

“We fed off each other’s energy and went on a run,” Mangrola said. “We didn’t give up. If we lost, I knew it would be our last game, so I just had to give it my all on the court.

“I didn’t want to regret anything when I looked back. At least I could say I gave it my all.”

Kelton McEwen led all scorers with 18 points for Bartlett. Nathan Scearce added 15 points and Mangrola chipped in with 12 off the bench.

Jack Ambrose paced Batavia (16-15) with 14 points. Nate Nazos had 12.

Bartlett, which trailed the entire game up to that point, was down 39-33 before Ravi Banipal hit a layup and Mangrola followed with two layups, the second coming off a steal.

That forced a 39-39 tie with 4:03 left in the fourth.

McEwen then scored six points in under 30 seconds. Mangrola followed with two free throws after another steal to give the Hawks a 49-40 lead they never relinquished.

“We’ve been in this position before,” Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. “We just had to ramp up our intensity. I thought Shubh was phenomenal at doing that.

“One of the things we love about Shubh and the seniors — they get after it. They wanted to play one more day. Kelton and Nathan led the way offensively, but the whole thing was keyed by the way Shubh played.”

Wolfsmith recalled a game that Mangrola played earlier this season against East Aurora in which he had a similar effect.

“We were kind of lazy and he went off,” Wolfsmith said. “It was like this — defend, get a steal, get a layup, get fouled and cause chaos.”

It’s just the way Mangrola likes it.

“That’s what I live for,” Mangrola said. “That just gets you going. That’s what basketball is — just feeding off that energy.

“Especially being a playoff game and playing like this, it’s almost a dream come true. Everyone dreams about that.”

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were in control of the game for the first 28 minutes before Bartlett’s overpowering surge.

That’s not how Batavia coach Jim Nazos will remember this team, however. The Bulldogs started the season 4-11.

“This is a team that came miles this season,” Nazos said. “No way does a half or a quarter change what I think about this team.”

Now, Bartlett gets a shot at the state’s top-ranked team in Benet, a 74-30 winner over Addison Trail in Wednesday’s other semifinal, in Friday’s regional championship game.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Wolfsmith said. “Our goal was to get to that game. We have. We’ve earned one more practice, one more game, and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.