Strong second half keys Geneva's win at Yorkville

While several other Western Sun Conference boys basketball games were postponed due to the snow Tuesday, the Geneva at Yorkville game was on without question.

"(Geneva athletic director Jim Kafer) said we were playing today, so I said OK," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "We were OK with that."

Good thing for the Vikings the game took place, as they improved to a perfect 7-0 overall, 3-0 in conference after topping the Foxes 54-36 at Yorkville.

After somewhat of a sluggish first half, Geneva's defense took over in the second half. It held the Foxes to just 11 points, including only 3 points in the fourth quarter.

"We played much better in the second half," Ralston said. "We played pretty good defense. Offensively, we took smarter shots in the second half, we got good looks at the basket... I really can't complain too much."

The Vikings capped the third quarter on a 7-0 run and extended that into an 18-0 run in the fourth. Their biggest lead of the game was 54-33 after a pair of Brennan Quinn's free throws with 2:08 left to play.

The Foxes' lone field goal of the quarter was a 3-pointer from Kyle Dhuse with 15 seconds remaining in the game.

"Second half, we came out stronger," Geneva senior Jeremy D'Amico said. "Our press (was working), we got steals and ended up putting them away."

In the first half, there were 5 ties. Yorkville led by as much as 18-13 early in the second quarter right before Geneva went on a 12-0 run, led by three different players. The Vikings' only double-digit lead in the first half was 29-19 after a steal and basket from Michael Santacaterina with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Yorkville, however, capped the final minute of first half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Luke Parece. He ended up leading the Foxes with 17 points - 15 of which came from 3-pointers.

All active players clocked in time for the Vikings. D'Amico led the way with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Rob Tauscher chipped in with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

All-Area football captain Michael Ratay has yet to play for the Vikings this season. The senior made varsity as a freshman, took last year off and has returned to the court for his senior season.

Ratay was on the sidelines in a shirt and tie against the Foxes. He and several other players who were on the state-bound football team missed the first few weeks of the season. This is the second week Ralston has a complete team. Almost.

"We'll see when he practices," Ralston said of Ratay. "He hasn't had a chance to practice yet."