Batavia rallies to tip Saints in overtime

Every time it didn't look like it would be Batavia's night Saturday at St. Charles East, the Bulldogs didn't go away.

Not when Tim Russell buried 3-pointers and the Saints opened with a 10-0 lead.

Not when Kevin Senechalle took over inside on his way to a game-high 25 points.

And not even when it looked like the Bulldogs had a come-from-behind win, only to see Zach Scott's 3-pointer send the game to overtime.

The Bulldogs regrouped each time, rallying from a 12-point deficit and then shutting out the Saints in overtime for a 56-53 victory.

"We've told our kids records go out the door with these two teams," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "We've been on both sides of the fence. It's been a battle ever since I've been watching Batavia basketball and that goes back to 1966. Their kids came out with great passion and we didn't match that early."

Batavia (17-7) only shot well in one quarter - making 9 of 16 shots in the third. Ricky Clopton came alive with 8 points in the quarter.

When Adam LeTourneau drained a 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining, Batavia had its first lead 38-37, and first points by any player other than David Bryant, Ben Potter or Clopton.

Potter followed with a sweet move to end the quarter, running down a long rebound, dribbling behind his back to shake a defender, then hitting a 3 that gave the Bulldogs a 42-40 lead entering the fourth.

"I knew I had a couple dribbles, I could get a good shot off," Potter said. "Last year I made a buzzer-beater at the end of third quarter here too."

LeTourneau's putback basket gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 44-40. A Danny Kohlhagen drive and consecutive baskets by Senechalle put the Saints ahead, 46-44.

The lead changed hands four times in the final three minutes. Clopton hit a 16-footer to put Batavia ahead, Senechalle answered down low.

Scott's pullup 14-foot baseline jumper gave the Saints their last lead of the night, 50-48. LeTourneau's 3 put Batavia ahead 51-50 with 1:12 remaining, and he followed by blocking a shot.

Bryant hit 2 of 3 free throws before Scott's clutch 3-pointer tied the game at 53 with 3.9 seconds left. Bryant, who hit a half-court shot last night and narrowly missed a three-quarters court shot at halftime Saturday, saw his half-courter at the buzzer bounce off the rim.

"That's the play we run," St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said. "We run him (Scott) off a double (screen) and that was a big 3, a great look 3 or 4 feet behind the arc and he cashed it."

After trading big shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter, neither team made a field goal in the overtime. Bryant scored the only 3 points at the free-throw line, and when Russell and Scott's last-second 3-point shots missed the mark, the Bulldogs had the win.

"It was a tough game tonight, luckily we came out on top," Potter said. "We didn't play our best in the first half."

After a stretch in the third quarter when Senechalle touched the ball on 8 possessions and the Saints scored on 6 of them, St. Charles East (8-17) wasn't able to get the ball to their big man in overtime.

"I wish in the overtime Kevin would have got a touch," Clodi said. "We're learning, we have to do a better job of finding him. He's such a mismatch for everybody. Overall we're still pretty proud of how we played."

While Senechalle scored 25, Clopton didn't back down, scoring 15 points himself, blocking 4 shots and grabbing 10 rebounds.

"I thought Ricky Clopton did a great job on him defensively," Roberts said. "Rick got us going offensively with some good looks and we did a better job crashing the glass."

After getting beat on the boards 11-6 in the first quarter, Batavia battled much better the rest of the way and ended up outrebounding the Saints, 43-37. Bryant led the way with 15 rebounds and Potter added 6. Levi Maxey played the entire second half at center and had 4 rebounds.

Senechalle led the Saints with 19 rebounds in his final home game.

"Their big guy is something else," Potter said. "He's a great player."

"It's frustrating," Senechalle said. "I was pretty sad because it's the last time I'll ever play on this court."

Both teams took care of the basketball. The Bulldogs had 7 turnovers in the game, the Saints 5 - and only three until two costly mistakes in overtime.

"Great high school game," Clodi said. "I'm sure that everybody that watched it got their money's worth.

"We were very fond of this (senior) group. We're proud of heir effort and their careers. You have to give Batavia credit for crawling back."

Bryant led Batavia with 17 points, hitting 12 of 15 free throws. Potter added 16.

"The way coach Clodi's team battles is a tribute to his players and his staff," Roberts said. "We were very fortunate, a very hard earned win."