Call this one the name game.
Shubh Mangrola, a senior guard, comes off the bench for Bartlett. He came up big Tuesday night in a battle with East Aurora for third place in the Upstate Eight Conference.
In his role with the Hawks, Mangrola lives up to his given name from his parents, who emigrated to the United States from India. And he also has a pretty slick nickname, too.
That would be “Microwave,” borrowed from former Detroit Pistons guard Vinnie Johnson and given to Mangrola for his ability to heat up quickly and provide instant offense.
“Shubh is, without a doubt, one of the best sixth men in our conference,” Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. “He can light it up.
“He’s super quick playing man-to-man or zone defense. When he’s playing his game and not thinking, just playing, it can be special.”
It was Tuesday as the 5-foot-9 Mangrola scored 18 points to spark Bartlett’s comeback from a 15-point deficit in the first half for a 74-66 victory.
Mangrola said his parents speak Gujarati, one of eight languages used in India.
“From what they tell me, my first name means ‘happy’ in Gujarati,” Mangrola said.
It was fitting this night for Bartlett (15-8, 8-4).
Mangrola’s performance, which included four steals and three assists, was a lift as the Hawks trailed 37-22 after East Aurora’s Kenneth Cooley completed a 3-point play with 2:46 left in the first half.
“I didn’t like how we played man-to-man defense in the first quarter,” Wolfsmith said. “We were giving up penetration and a lot of kick-out 3-pointers.
“When that happens, you have to change things up.”
Wolfsmith switched to a zone and the Hawks pulled within 40-34 after two quarters, taking advantage of senior forward Jabian Acosta sitting the final 4:14 of the first half for the Tomcats (10-12, 8-4) due to foul trouble.
East Aurora still led 53-44 with 2:17 left in the third, but Bartlett began alternating zones and it took a toll, especially with Acosta back on the bench for most of the quarter with four fouls.
“Jabian has to learn to play without fouling,” East Aurora coach Rick Robinson said. “Now, he’s on the sideline coaching with me.”
The Hawks had three straight steals in the final 2:06 of the third quarter and finished it with a 15-3 burst for a 59-56 lead.
“We came out and started throwing the ball away and not taking care of it,” Robinson said. “When you try to lob the ball over a zone, it’s trouble. That’s our game. We want you to try to lob the ball so we can go get it.”
Bartlett had won just once in its previous six games, but was missing junior guard Nathan Scearce for three games with an ankle injury.
“We had leads in the fourth quarter in four of the games we lost,” Wolfsmith said.
Scearce led Bartlett with 24 points and junior guard Kelton McEwen added 13.
“That stretch cost us a chance at the conference title,” Scearce said. “We started slow (Tuesday night), but our defense turned it around.”
Jalen Bealer led East Aurora with 23 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Cooley, a junior guard, added 17.
Mangrola said scoring 21 points off the bench during a Christmas holiday tournament game at Jacobs gave his confidence a boost.
He started a few games, but after struggling in that role, a talk with Wolfsmith helped him embrace the sixth-man role.
“He likes what I bring to the team off the bench in that role,” Mangrola said.
And it makes sense.
“He comes off the bench and gives them 18,” Robinson said. “He had one point the last time we played them. This time, he was the difference.”