Geneva silences Lockport to snap skid
Geneva got back in the win column by getting back to the basics -- Geneva basics.
Entering the Plainfield North Tournament Thursday on a 3-game losing streak and with state power Benet looming Friday, the Vikings did what they did best to knock off Lockport, 43-32.
Geneva got the pace of the game at the style it prefers, down 5-3 after one quarter and tied 12-12 at halftime before taking a 24-16 lead after three.
The Vikings (5-5) stymied Lockport on the defensive end, holding the Porters (6-3) to 10 field goals in 44 attempts. Then they put a body on their man and grabbed a majority of those missed shots, wining the rebounding battle 35-24.
The result was a boisterous Geneva locker room after the victory, the opposite of how it has been in recent losses to Elgin, Lake Park and Plainfield North.
“We just told them we are back to basics now. We need to focus on our top eight, make sure they got the quality minutes,” Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. “Enough with the special plays, it's time to get back to the Geneva grind it out basketball. Kids did a phenomenal job tonight.”
Dan Trimbe led the way, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
“We had to win,” Trimble said. “We were tired of losing and getting pushed around. We came out and gave it all we got. Everyone came out confident and we all believed in each other.”
Lockport's only other losses this year are against Homewood-Flossmoor and Benet.
“We told the kids you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this game,” Ralston said. “We just needed the pressure taken off our kids to play at this level.
“We wanted to make every shot difficult for Lockport and make sure every rebound came to us and I think by and large we made that happen.”
Trimble made Geneva's only field goal in 10 attempts in the first quarter. The Vikings tried milking the final 1:38 off the clock before being called for a moving screen with 15 seconds left in the quarter.
Will Doeckel's hard baseline drive quickly tied the game at 5-5 in the second quarter. Geneva never led in the first half but went to halftime tied at 12 when Phil Lorenz split free throws with 29 seconds left in the half.
Trimble's 3-pointer to open the second half gave the Vikings their first lead. The senior scored 7 points in the quarter, and Lorenz capped it with a steal that he took the other way for a layup and an 8-point lead going to the fourth.
Lockport scored as many points in the forth quarter 16 as it had in the first three. The Porters got as close as 32-27 and while Geneva did turn the ball over seven times the Vikings made most of their free throws and continued their strong defense to leave with the win.
Even when the Vikings did miss at the line, twice they hustled for an offensive rebound to keep possession and get fouled again.
“We faltered a little bit but the kids withstood the storm,” Ralston said. “That's what we wanted them to do. We really needed a win like this against a quality team. We have kind of taken our lumps and not played to the best of our potential and lost to good teams. It was nice to stand toe-to-toe with a state quality team and come out on the top end.”
Geneva almost was hit with a technical foul to start the second half when sophomore call-up Connor Chapman wasn't listed in Lockport's book even though Ralston wrote him into Geneva's book and the referees signed it. Instead, the Vikings were not able to use Chapman in the second half.
Brad Bernhard helped Trimble on the glass with 7 rebounds while Doeckel chipped in 8 points.
“We just had everyone crashing the boards, even the guards,” Trimble said. “A lot of intensity at the beginning of the game, first time all year. Usually we are behind and have to catch up.”
Karrington Ward led Lockport with 12 points.
“Not surprising that a team that played hard, played together, was well organized and was well coached beat a team that tonight was sloppy, looked unorganized and could not get my kids to execute on the offensive end,” Lockport coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. said.