Geneva’s execution sinks Bartlett

Figuring out which coach was happy about how his team executed and which wasn’t didn’t take more than a look at the scoreboard of Geneva’s 57-41 win over Bartlett Tuesday in Geneva.

The Vikings (7-10), who had been slumping coming in losing 3 of 4 at the East Aurora Christmas Tournament and 8 of 10 overall, were all smiles after doing just what coach Phil Ralston wanted.

“We had some trouble in the tournament over Christmas so we were looking to get a big win tonight,” Geneva senior Brad Bernhard said. “We came out and executed the gameplan top to bottom. One of the better games we’ve played as a team this year. Kind of a confidence booster.”

Geneva held Bartlett’s Lorenzo Mitchell off the boards, kept Lance Whitaker from penetrating and, other than the first quarter, contested Matt Chaltin 3-point looks.

And on the offensive end, Geneva took its time and got the shots it wanted, shooting a sizzling 55.5 percent. They were even better over the final three quarters, making 17 of 26 for 65.3 percent.

“Executing the game plan was the key to winning the game,” Ralston said. “The kids did a nice job running the offense and staying patient. I thought we got a lot of high-percentage shots.”

Of everything that disappointed Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith, perhaps nothing was worse than continuing to lose Geneva’s leading scorer Dan Trimble. The 6-foot-8 senior hit 9 of 13 shots from the field and buried five 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point, 7-rebound night.

“We knew Trimble could shoot, we said don’t leave him alone,” Wolfsmith said. “You can’t let the kid that you know is their stud get easy looks. He had a couple hard looks he hit, OK, the kid is a ballplayer, he’ll do that. But you can’t give him those looks where you are four feet, three feet away from him.”

Bartlett (8-8) grabbed a 14-7 lead after the first quarter as Chaltin drilled three of his four 3-pointers.

Geneva scored the first 8 points of the second quarter to take the lead on Bernhard’s 18-foot baseline jumper. Whitaker assisted Ryan Roskowiak’s 3-pointer and then drove for a basket, putting Bartlett ahead for the final time, 19-18.

Geneva capped the second quarter with a flurry. Holding a 20-19 lead and running their delay game, Dan Hince found an opening and knifed through the lane for a basket with 15 seconds left.

Ben Rogers tipped a pass away, and Phil Lorenz grabbed the loose ball and drove to the basket. His layup didn’t fall, but Trimble was there to clean up in a big way with a follow-up dunk just before the halftime buzzer to send Geneva into the locker room with a 24-19 lead and momentum.

“That was a lot of fun,” Bernhard said. “We got fired up with that, extending the lead too. That was great.”

“I think that was the kind of lift the kids needed coming into the locker room and say ‘Hey, Bartlett is an outstanding team and we were taking it to them.’ It was nice to see our kids step up and respond to them,” Ralston said.

Bartlett came as close as 27-25 in the third quarter. Trimble responded with a 3 to start stretching Geneva’s lead, which stood at 36-29 after three quarters and 45-31 early in the fourth after a 9-2 run.

While Trimble was the only Viking in double figures, Hince (9 points), Will Doeckel (8 points), Bernhard (7 points, 7 rebounds) and Phil Lorenz (6 points) all made timely plays.

“Nice to see him (Trimble) connect like that, but this was more about a team effort,” Ralston said. “A lot of guys stepped on the floor and had some positive contributions.”

Chaltin and Whitaker both scored 12 points for Bartlett.

“Ultimately I thought the game was won by patience,” Wolfsmith said. “They were more patient on offense with their shots than we were.”