DeKalb capitalizes on Geneva's slow start
As poorly as Geneva played in the first half at DeKalb on Friday night, the Vikings had plenty of chances down the stretch to nail down another Western Sun Conference victory and stay unbeaten through eight games.
But those chances rattled in and out of the basket on three separate 3-point tries in the fourth quarter when the Vikings were trying to stage a furious comeback in the Barbs' raucous gymnasium.
Those three shots would have put Geneva ahead or tied the game in what ultimately was a 46-39 DeKalb victory.
The thought that Geneva (7-1, 3-1) would have a chance at all, after scoring only 10 points in the first half and trailing 21-10, didn't seem logical through most of a contest in which "sluggish" would best describe the Vikings' state of affairs.
"You dig a 16-point hole, it is hard to overcome that," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "We were right there at the end, and maybe if a couple of different things go our way and a couple of shots go in, and we had good looks, but they go in and out. You can't fault that, that's basketball."
But Ralston was not pleased with his team's approach in the first half.
"We certainly can fault our effort for the first 20 minutes when we decided that we weren't going to compete, and they were," Ralston said. "That is where the game was truly lost."
DeKalb (2-4, 1-1) actually built an 18-point lead at 33-15 midway through the third quarter as Geneva was having trouble contending with Jordan Teboda (9 points) on the outside and 6-10 center Jordan Threloff (9 points, 8 rebounds) near the basket.
The Vikings started their comeback at that point, scoring the last 8 points of the third quarter as Jeremy D'Amico (game-high 20 points) started forcing the action inside and guard Michael Santacaterina (12 points on four 3-pointers) started heating up from the outside.
A six-point spurt by D'Amico late in the fourth quarter brought Geneva within two points at 38-36, but a three-point try by Rob Tauscher went in and out, and DeKalb's Patrick Rourke came up with the ball after a rebound scramble and he was fouled driving to the basket. He made both free throws, and seconds later, Threloff put in an offensive rebound basket to boost the Barbs to a 42-36 lead with 58 seconds left.
Santacaterina drilled a 3-pointer and Geneva gained possession after an offensive foul, but Tauscher again had tough luck on a three-point try that rattled in and out of the basket.
After DeKalb's Darius McNeal missed two free throws, D'Amico fired a long 3-pointer that missed and DeKalb finished off the game with four free throws.
"We just weren't ready to play in the first half and didn't have the right mindset, and our offense was just pitiful," Santacaterina said. "We straightened things up at halftime, but once you dig yourself in a hole like that, it's hard to come out of.
"We had their big kid in foul trouble and out of the game, but we still couldn't do anything."
DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman said that first half stretch, with his big center on the bench, was a key.
"We said in our game plan that our bench would have to be huge, and they certainly were, because in that first half we had to go to a small lineup with Jordan (Threloff) sitting on the bench with two fouls and that's as aggressive and as well as we have moved on defense all year," Rohlman said.
"We lost our poise a little bit late in the game, but we had a lot of confidence in the first half," Rohlman added. "This is the second week in a row we have had a huge crowd here, and the that gives our guys a lot of confidence."
"Quite frankly, Geneva didn't shoot as well as I thought they would and we really were letting some of them shoot the outside shot until they could prove they could make it," Rohlman said. "It was part of the game plan."
Ralston was impressed with DeKalb's effort.
"You can't walk into someone else's gym and seem to think you've got a win before the game is played," Ralston said. "I give DeKalb a tremendous amount of credit. They came out and played hard and they have a good team."