Batavia finds balance can be beautiful thing

In Friday night's 83-59 victory over Rochelle, the Batavia boys basketball team came within 1 point by Jordan Coffey from placing all five starters in double figures.

Coffey scored 9 points in a strong all-around performance that included 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Ben Potter led the Bulldogs with 21 points, and the senior said having so many players capable of leading the team in scoring is a big advantage.

"There's definitely a lot more balance on this year's squad than last year," Potter said. "There's a lot more guys who can shoot the ball well. Everyone can shoot the ball when they get open."

Potter is taking advantage of more playing time and has become one of the team's most consistent scorers.

"He's worked, it's a neat thing in coaching, he's developed his strength, he's working on his quickness," said Batavia coach Jim Roberts.

The Bulldogs followed Friday's win by beating Quincy on Saturday to improve to 5-0.

They have a big week of Western Sun Conference games, starting at DeKalb tonight and Glenbard South on Saturday. The Barbs defeated Kaneland last week, while the Raiders lost in overtime at Geneva.

"We don't want to lose in conference," Potter said. "We want to go undefeated in conference every year, that's our goal. We're pretty happy so far."

More undefeated greats: Joining Batavia among undefeated area teams are Geneva and Aurora Central Catholic. The Vikings, who have been powered by Jeremy D'Amico, are 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Western Sun Conference.

The Chargers (6-0, 2-0 in the Suburban Catholic Conference) are fueled by Anthony Kelley.

Both D'Amico and Kelley were two players their respective coaches said were going to make a huge impact their senior seasons.

D'Amico recently scored 33 points in an overtime win over Glenbard South. Kelley, who was named the MVP of the Sandwich tournament, scored 20 points against St. Edward and 18 against Montini over the weekend.

"He's really good," ACC coach Nate Drye said after the win over St. Edward. "He's just dynamite in the open court."