Batavia rebounds, beats Waubonsie
A loss to Elgin Thursday left Batavia senior Elliott Vaughn with a bad taste in his mouth. He and his teammates found something sweet to replace it with Saturday against Waubonsie Valley.
In a back-and-forth battle from the opening tip to the final minute, the Bulldogs and Warriors fought through 30 ties or lead changes, including seven ties in the fourth quarter.
When the dust settled, it was Vaughn and his post partner Cole Gardner doing what they have done all season, dominating inside for 42 points to lead Batavia to a 68-61 victory.
The Bulldogs (5-4) overcame an 8-point deficit early in the third quarter. They made 23 of 30 free throws two days after 8-of-18 shooting at the line cost them in a 5-point loss at Elgin.
“Especially with the loss Thursday (this win) kind of gets that bad taste out of our mouths,” Vaughn said. “It sets us up with that mindset that we can play with most teams. I think we knew that already but we have the momentum now with the win.”
Vaughn led the parade to the line, making 9 of 10. Gardner hit 5 of 6. Clinging to a 62-61 lead in the final minute, Jesse Coffey, Mike Rueffer and Zach Strittmatter all were a perfect 2 of 2, making the final 7-point margin Batavia's largest lead of the game.
“We came in (practice) the next day and had the mindset we were going to make free throws,” Vaughn said. “Practice makes perfect.
“After we ran sprints, we got to the free-throw line and put up as many shots as we could. That could have been the difference tonight.”
Batavia's hustle also was. The sophomore starters Rueffer and Strittmatter were both on the floor in the early minutes scrapping for loose balls. Strittmatter finished with 10 rebounds in an effort Batavia coach Jim Roberts called his best of the year.
“I've always rebounded well and I haven't been doing that in the season so far,” said Strittmatter, who credited all his teammates and especially Vaughn for keeping his spirits up after the early struggles getting acclimated to varsity basketball.
“I don't know if it's I've been timid and shy but I've been working really hard in practice going hard to the glass and trying to get a lot of rebounds. It's a really big win, hopefully we can carry it into the (Elgin holiday) tournament (Monday).”
Waubonsie Valley (6-3), playing without coach Steve Weemer (stomach flu), beat the buzzer at the end of both the first and second quarters. Jakobi Johnson was in the middle of both plays, first with a stickback as the first quarter ended and then banking in a jumper as the second quarter expired. Those 4 points helped Waubonsie Valley lead 32-27 at halftime.
Jared Brown ridge (team-high 18 points) opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their biggest lead, 35-27.
Gardner, who missed the final six minutes of the first half with 2 fouls, scored 9 points in an 11-2 Batavia run that put the Bulldogs back in front 42-41. The teams traded the lead four more times before heading to the fourth quarter tied at 47.
“The third quarter might have been his best basketball since he's been in high school here,” Roberts said of Gardner.
The game was tied at 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 and 61 in the fourth quarter. Biles split free throws to give the Warriors their final lead at 61-60, then Vaughn hit a pair with 52 seconds left for a 62-61 Batavia lead.
Tyler Edmondson drew a foul on the Warriors next possession but missed both free throws. Coffey hit two at the line for a 3-point lead. Brownridge missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go, and Rueffer and Strittmatter's free throws iced the game.
Vaughn had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Gardner 19 points and 7 boards. They scored 27 of their points in the second half while fouling out both of the Warriors big men, Edmondson and Austin Keys.
“In the second half they overpowered us inside,” Warriors assistant coach Dave Owles said. “We let them catch it too deep. That's the first thing you have to do is not let them dig in where they want. We kept letting them turn to their strong hand and score. You have to take away their strength and we didn't do a good job of it.”
Johnson (12 points) and Biles (11) joined Brownridge in double figures for Waubonsie.
“Our guys fought but didn't quite do the things the way we wanted to,” Owles said.
Coffey added 11 points, Rueffer 8 and Strittmatter 7 for the Bulldogs, who open play at Elgin at 1:30 p.m. Monday against Buffalo Grove.
“Buffalo Grove is a similar type team that wants to push the ball,” Roberts said.
“I thought as the game wore on defensively we got better. Early in the game we did not find their shooters real well and they made us pay for it.”