The trust between teammates was on display for Sycamore during the team’s semifinal game against Burlington Central at the 62nd Leland G. Strombom Tournament in Sycamore on Friday.

The Spartans dished out 15 assists and four players finished in double figures as Sycamore held off a brief fourth quarter rally to beat Burlington Central 62-56 and advance to the tournament final against Yorkville.

Josiah Mitchell, who scored a team-high 14 points while adding six rebounds and three assists, was one of six Spartans to distribute at least one assist against the Rockets.

“We know we can all make shots,” Mitchell said. “We trust each other throughout the whole game and everybody can make shots. It’s just the trust. We were taking smart shots. We were taking the shots we know we can make and we were moving the ball a lot.”

A 6-0 run midway through the first quarter helped Sycamore (2-0) build an early lead over the Rockets, who leaned on skilled 6-foot-6 forward Patrick Magan throughout the evening. Magan, who put up a game-high 27 points with five rebounds and two assists, got going in the second quarter to pace the Burlington Central offense.

“My teammates were finding me,” Magan said. “I hit a couple of shots early in the game and they were finding me. They were setting down screens and running plays for me and I thought that helped me score my points. I think everyone is capable of leading offensively, but I needed to step up and my teammates found me.”

Sycamore guard Xander Lewis drilled a 3-pointer to push his team ahead 26-16 and force a Burlington Central timeout early in the second quarter. Lewis totaled 11 points and sent out three dimes for the Spartans, whose tough half-court defense enabled them to own a 31-20 halftime lead despite a slight rebounding deficit.

“In this game, we knew we needed to be more fundamentally sound,” said Sycamore guard Marcus Johnson, who compiled 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. “We know that Burlington Central is a fast team that tries to force turnovers, but we played a fundamental game and we worked for the best shot on the court.”

The Rockets (1-1) faced a double-digit deficit throughout the third quarter, but Magan and 6-foot-6 freshman forward Declan Wilson provided a spark for Burlington Central. With Wilson fighting for rebounds and scoring inside, Magan knocked down multiple 3-point shots to cut the lead to five, 44-39, after three quarters.

But crucial turnovers hurt the Rockets in the fourth quarter, where back-to-back buckets from Johnson, who drained a triple before putting home a layup after a Sycamore steal, allowed the Spartans to regain a double-digit advantage.

Burlington Central will take on Rochelle, which lost to Yorkville, in the third-place matchup.

“We let up too many straight line drives,” Magan said. “We need to work on our one-on-one defense. Our offense could be better, but our defense is what we need to work on. We need to just lock in on defense and Rochelle’s a big team, so we need to be physical.”

Burlington Central clawed back to within four points late in the final quarter, but the Spartans closed the game out at the free throw line. Isaiah Feuerbach, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds, made a pair to help Sycamore seal the victory.

Wilson finished with eight points and six rebounds, while Ryan Carpenter collected four points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rockets. Logan Hodges and Tyler Townsend combined to score 11 points and grab four rebounds off the Sycamore bench.