Disappointing end to outstanding night

Batavia boys basketball star Nick Fruendt has been a part of Night of Hoops for four years.

The Northwestern-bound senior has loved every minute of the crowds, the teams, the games and the fun that takes place once a year in Batavia.

Too bad Fruendt and 7 other seniors on the Bulldogs have to remember their last Night of Hoops with a 68-65 double overtime loss against Simeon.

Still, the night extended way beyond the game.

"Seeing my friends, family and all the fans is something I'll never forget," Fruendt said.

Night of Hoops featured two other fun games. East Aurora upset St. Joseph, 67-55 in the first game and West Aurora got back on the winning track with a 49-40 win over Quincy in the second game.

The gym was warm -- borderline sweltering -- packed and filled with familiar faces. Saturday was everything a high school basketball fan could ever want.

"Is it always this hot in here?," Simeon coach Robert Smith asked after his team beat Batavia. "We didn't know what to expect. This is our first time out here. I heard the crowd would be large like this…this is the atmosphere we need to be in at this time of the season."

"This is basketball at its best," West Aurora senior Tyler Thompson added. "I really enjoyed this atmosphere -- crazy, sweating and people everywhere. It's good times."

As early as halftime of the East Aurora/St. Joseph game, the gym seemed filled. The main parking lot was filled as well.

The West Aurora/Quincy game turned out to be a well-needed win for the Blackhawks, who dropped their last two DuPage Valley Conference games.

For Marquis Stewart, a senior guard with the Blackhawks, he was delighted with the support not only from the West Aurora fans but -- surprise -- from some of the Batavia fans as well.

The Blackhawks and Bulldogs have played each other in the last two years with West Aurora winning in 2006 and Batavia taking the crown in 2007.

The two teams did not play each other this year. Perhaps Batavia wanted the Blackhawks to win because Quincy beat the Bulldogs earlier this year for one of their four losses.

"Batavia was a lot more supportive of us than I thought they would be," Stewart said. "They were cheering for us. It was nice. The crowd was wonderful. (Batavia) was pulling for us. Nick (Fruendt) said before the game, 'I hope you win.''

Stewart wished the same thing back to the Bulldogs against Simeon, but it didn't happen.

Still, Simeon lived up to its expectations.

"They are definitely really good," Batavia senior guard Phil Albrecht said.

The same can be said about Saturday night.

cbolin@dailyherald.com