McDonald's career night leads Geneva past Streamwood

Jack McDonald was on fire. So was Keenon Cole.

The players with contrasting styles each went off for more than 30 points. Streamwood's Cole won the individual battle with 34, but McDonald got a little more support from his Geneva teammates as they downed the Sabres, 74-52, in Upstate Eight River Division boys basketball action in Streamwood Tuesday night.

With Steamwood playing mostly zone defense, the Vikings lit it up from outside, hitting 51 percent overall and 10 of 20 from 3-point range.

McDonald led the way with a career-high 31 points. Mitch Mascari added 14 points while Jack Hood and Nate Santos added 8 apiece for Geneva (5-1, 1-0). Mascari also pulled down 10 rebounds.

"They sat back in that zone and we were all hitting, especially in the first half,'" said McDonald, a 5-foot-11 guard. "The shots were just going in tonight."

"I thought we did a nice job against their zone, moving the ball around," said Geneva coach Scott Hennig. "Fortunately, we hit some shots. They're a good team. The Cole kid is a Division I player and he's tough to stop. We tried to rotate guys on him, but he just made plays."

Cole, at 6-foot-7, dominated inside, although he also made 3 shots from beyond the arc. He ripped down 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Brendon Marton added 9 points, 2 blocks, and 3 assists, but no one else on the Sabres had more than 4 points. And nobody could seem to stop the Vikings' shooters.

"They run their man-to-man stuff so well," said Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn. "We know they can shoot, so we thought our best bet was to do what we did and take the gamble. They shot really well from the outside.

"Offensively, we were stagnant today. We didn't execute anything, and then defensively, they made us pay for every little mistake."

Streamwood never led and was tied only at 5-5. Geneva led 21-12 after one period and never looked back. Santos' 3-pointer to open the second quarter put the Vikings ahead by 11 and the Sabres never got closer.

Streamwood put together an 8-0 run, capped by Zack Marquez's conventional 3-point play, to make it 43-33 midway through the third, but that was as close as they got. The Vikings answered with 9 straight points to go up 52-33. The Vikings put the game away at the free-throw line, with McDonald and Mascari combining to make 9 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter.