Bryant hits half-court shot in Batavia's 34-point win
There were only two seconds remaining before halftime when Batavia inbounded the ball from underneath its basket.
It was plenty of time for David Bryant.
The Bulldogs' four-year varsity member banked home a shot from just inside the time line, and Sycamore had its promising run completely neutralized.
It was all Batavia in the second half of the Western Sun Conference boys basketball game; Bryant and fellow senior Ben Potter combined for nine 3-pointers and 44 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Spartans 79-45 Friday night in Batavia.
"I thought it was way off," said Bryant, who finished with 23 points to lead all scorers on the Bulldogs' senior night. "It got us going for the second half."
After a sluggish start, Sycamore regrouped behind guard Michael Buckner. Batavia scored 15 of the first 19 points in the game, but the senior sharpshooter canned jumpers from beyond the arc on three consecutive Sycamore possessions to bring his squad within 29-23.
But Bryant and Potter had ample responses. Bryant matched the 11-point Buckner second-quarter outburst - the only points Sycamore scored in the frame - and Potter not only loosened up himself from long range but also completely shut down the Spartans' most dangerous weapon. The Bryant half-court shot gave closed an 8-0 second-quarter run that gave Batavia a 37-23 lead at the break.
In the second half, Potter added three more 3-pointers to finish with five on the night and 21 points overall. Even more important, Potter held Buckner (team-high 13 points) without a point after the break.
"That's what we talked about at halftime - shutting (Buckner) down," Potter said. "I was giving (Buckner) too much space (in the second quarter). It was a lot of fun out there tonight. We shot the ball well."
Batavia was 7-for-14 from beyond the arc in the opening half, and its perimeter shooting was even more effective in the second half. Batavia blitzed the Spartans with a 10 of 15 collective performance in the third quarter, and senior post Alex Berg had all 6 of his points on inside scores to augment the long-range gunnery.
The Bulldogs also enjoyed a sizable majority on the glass, with junior Ricky Clopton leading the way 11 rebounds, 7 of which came in the opening quarter.
"When (Clopton) is playing (well), we're a tough team to beat," Bryant said.
Bryant and Potter had the last of the starters' 11 3-pointers - Adam LeTourneau had two in scoring all 8 of his points in the opening quarter - to start the fourth quarter, and the reserves built the lead to as high as 73-36.
"(Bryant) is a tremendous player," Sycamore coach Jeff Hillmer said. "Obviously, Potter feeds off of (his play-making)."
Batavia is 16-7, 9-4; Sycamore is 8-14, 4-8.