Batavia's size too much for Larkin

Cole Gardner and Elliott Vaughn needed camping permits for the amount of time they spent along the low blocks of the free-throw lane Friday night during Batavia's Upstate Eight River division clash against Larkin.

The host Bulldogs enjoyed a significant height and muscle advantage over the Royals, resulting in Gardner cashing in a career-high 25 points and Vaughn chipping in 18 as the powerful tandem fueled a 74-40 rout for Batavia.

Batavia (4-3, 2-1) tallied 48 of its points on inside power moves from front line players off the low blocks, and another 10 points at the free-throw line from fouls drawn near the basket.

“We tried to get it to me and Elliott (Vaughn) as much as possible, because if they double Elliott, I'd be open,” said Gardner, who also had nine rebounds, one shy of Vaughn's game-high 10. “One of us would always be open, and we both had a good night.”

It was evident from the outset that Gardner and Vaughn were going to be using up a lot of space in the scorebook. Gardner scored the first three baskets of the game on inside moves, and Vaughn got into the same act with three first-quarter baskets.

Vaughn finished the first half with 14 points, while Gardner added 10. With the height advantage Batavia enjoyed with Gardner and Vaughn, both 6-5 and towering over most of the Royals, even missed shots were good plays for the Bulldogs. They had seven offensive rebounds in the first half, including a Vaughn tip-in slam dunk to close the half and lift Batavia to a 35-23 lead.

“Cole and I have a very good bond together,” Vaughn, a senior, said of his junior frontcourt mate. “Coming off his freshman year, and my sophomore year, we got to know each other so well, and when I turn (into the lane) Cole is going to be open, or he turns in, I'm going to be open. It's not that I don't look to score, it's just a matter of going for the easier bucket.”

Larkin (2-4, 0-2) kept within striking distance in the first half because of two three-pointers by guard Quantice Hunter (team-high 10 points) and another by guard Derrick Streety.

“I thought in the second half, we did a better job of getting loose basketballs, because in the first half I thought Larkin won the battle of loose basketballs,” Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. “Going inside established some things early for us, and it opens things up from the perimeter as the game goes on.”

Batavia stuck with the game plan of getting the ball inside to start the second half as Gardner had 6 inside points and Brady Strittmatter powered inside for two baskets, and the game began to slip away from Larkin as the Bulldogs enjoyed a 51-32 lead entering the final quarter and were never threatened.

Batavia enjoyed a 41-25 rebounding edge and also sank 15 of 19 free throws in the game, with Gardner leading the way by hitting 7 of his 8 attempts.

Larkin coach Deryn Carter knew there was no room for error for his team against the power game of Batavia.

“We scrapped pretty well, but when you are at that kind of size disadvantage, you can't scrap pretty well, you have to scrap really well for 32 minutes,” Carter said. “We're struggling to find that consistency right now.

“Batavia doesn't have just two big post players, they have two good ones,” Carter said of the Gardner-Vaughn combination. “It wouldn't be so hard if they both weren't so skilled and complemented each other so well. Honestly, in our league, I would have to give them the nod as the best post-player tandem.”

Gardner claimed the solid interior play isn't coming by accident, but it's not the Bulldogs' only weapon.

“We practice getting the ball inside all of the time,” Gardner said. “When the guards have big nights when they are on fire, we get it back out to them. We are definitely on the same page.”

Batavia's defense forced Larkin into 23 percent shooting (11 of 47), and the Bulldogs covered up many of their misses (28 of 64) with 11 offensive rebounds.