Batavia avoids early wake-up call

One of the best things about holiday basketball tournaments is that you don't get much time to think about the previous day's defeat.

Another is the incentive of not wanting to play in the 8:45 a.m. game.

Batavia (6-5) avoided the dreaded early morning tipoff thanks to its 43-34 victory over Highland Park (4-7) Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the 36th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament.

After losing to Buffalo Grove in Monday's opening round, the Bulldogs used a 9-0 fourth-quarter run to pull away from the pesky Giants.

“It was important to win today after yesterday's loss,” said senior forward Elliott Vaughn, who finished with 9 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. “That was a goal for us — not to play in the 8:45 (a.m.) game.

“We didn't come out and play our game (against Buffalo Grove),” added Vaughn. “We want to come out each day with a good purpose and idea of what we want to do as far as offense and defense is concerned.”

Batavia relied on its superior height advantage, outrebounding Highland Park by a staggering 43-22 margin, as frontcourt starters Cole Gardner, Zach Strittmatter and Vaughn combined for 30 rebounds.

“We do have good size but you have to play big,” said Batavia coach Jim Roberts. “I thought that as the game progressed, we did a better job of doing that.”

Batavia led 14-10 after one quarter and 26-19 at halftime before going cold in the first 4-plus minutes of the second half.

Misfiring on its first 5 shots from the field, the Bulldogs saw their lead shrink to 26-25 after Michael Bernstein made a pair of free throws with 5:14 left in the third quarter.

But Batavia responded with 6 unanswered points, 5 of them coming from Vaughn, including his putback three-point play, and carried a 32-27 advantage into the final period.

“Once we settled down a bit, I think we controlled the boards pretty well and stayed fundamental as far as boxing out is concerned,” said Vaughn.

Senior guard Jesse Coffey, who led the Bulldogs with 12 points, and backcourt mate Mike Rueffer combined for 7 fourth-quarter free throws to spark the 9-0 surge that extended the lead to double digits down the stretch.

“I thought we took care of the ball better and I thought we moved without the ball better,” Roberts said of his team's late run.

Gardner added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who now face Rockford Guilford in today's 1:30 p.m. game. Earlier Tuesday, Rockford Guilford defeated Willowbrook, 82-56.

“They're very quick and very aggressive,” Roberts said of his team's next opponent. “We've got to step up and be ready to handle things.”

Cole Stern scored 14 points for Highland Park.