Batavia rallies behind soph Coffey's 3s

For the second consecutive night, Batavia's basketball team got off to a slow start.

But much like they did with their 44-20 second-half surge during Tuesday's 70-42 victory over Addison Trail, the Bulldogs (2-0) outscored Aurora Christian (0-2) 39-19 over the final 16 minutes on the way to a 62-45 victory in Wednesday's second round of the 33rd annual Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic.

Sophomore guard Jesse Coffey, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half with four 3-pointers, fueled the surge as the Bulldogs overcame a 26-23 halftime deficit.

After Adam LeTourneau's driving layup gave Batavia its first lead of the night, 28-26, in the opening minutes of the third quarter, Coffey drilled a pair of long-distance baskets from the top of the key to help extend the Bulldogs' lead to 34-28.

"We were kind of launching them (3-point shots) from all over the place in the first half," said Coffey, whose team connected on just 3 of its 17 first-half 3-point attempts. "We knew that eventually if we kept shooting that we'd start knocking some down."

Aurora Christian, led by Nate Hill (13 points, 9 rebounds), Jeremy Anderson (11 points) and point guard Juwanza Wright (11 points), whittled the deficit to 41-39 on Hill's third 3-pointer of the game with 6:36 remaining.

Anderson's 3-pointer from the corner made it 50-44 with 4:30 left but that was as close as the Eagles could get, as the Bulldogs scored 10 unanswered points over the next 4 minutes to pull away.

"We shot the ball better and we moved the ball better," said Batavia coach Jim Roberts, "and as a result things went around the block better.

"We got a big lift from Jesse (Coffey) obviously shooting the ball and we got a big lift emotionally from Alex Berg."

The Eagles led throughout the first half, thanks in part to 4-of-8 accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc and a 17-13 rebounding advantage.

"That's what we intended to do, protecting the key," said Aurora Christian coach Marc Davidson. "In the first half, we only gave up one basket in the paint."

Things were a little different in the second half, however.

"I think they made a couple adjustments against our zone," said Davidson. "In the first half, those shots weren't falling. And we were a little bit late getting out at times, not rotating the way we should have and we always get a hand up.

"They hit a few 3s on us and that's where it got a little away from us. But I feel pretty good about the way we competed. Last night (against St. Francis), particularly in the third quarter, I didn't think we had the type of effort that we needed so tonight I was pleased as far as our effort - particularly in the first half."

David Bryant led Batavia with 20 points while Ricky Clopton added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Tournament action concludes Saturday night with the Eagles playing Addison Trail and Batavia battling St. Francis.