Geneva drops OT heartbreaker
Geneva coach Phil Ralston used the phrase "I'll take the hit for the loss" four times in a three-minute, 42-second postgame talk Friday.
Truth be told, if any of a multitude of things went differently against DeKalb, Ralston and his players would be sharing credit for taking the Western Sun lead instead of mulling over all the what-ifs of a 48-47 overtime defeat.
If Geneva could have played better defense with a 2-point lead in the final seconds of regulation.
If the Vikings could have capitalized on DeKalb center Jordan Threloff's early foul trouble.
If Geneva could have hit more than 1 of 9 free throws in the first three quarters, or 18 of 61 shots from the field in the game.
If the Vikings could have come up with a better shot attempt down 1 late in overtime.
If, if, if... if any of that happened Geneva (5-2, 2-1) would not be looking up at DeKalb (5-2, 3-0) in the Western Sun race after an entertaining, physical 36 minutes of basketball that included 8 ties and 8 lead changes.
The first of the two plays Ralston second guessed the most came at the end of regulation when Pat Rourke drove uncontested for a game-tying layup with 4 seconds to go. When Nolan Block's 35-footer at the buzzer missed barely long, the game was headed to overtime tied at 45.
"I'll take the hit on that," Ralston said. "Didn't go with my gut reaction on how to defend them. As soon as he caught the ball and there was no help side I was like "oh man."
DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman said the play was originally designed to get an open 3-pointer. The Barbs made eight 3-pointers in the game.
"That was a good read because we designed it to get a 3 on the top or on the wing," Rohlman said.
Only two players scored in overtime. Dylan Donnelly's third 3-pointer put the Barbs ahead 48-45, then Block's runner cut the lead to 48-47 with 1:05 to play.
Geneva got the ball back twice, first when Threloff was called for offensive goaltending on a putback dunk, then when the Barbs traveled.
But after a travel on one possession, the Vikings wound up with a rushed shot on the next, missing with 4 seconds to go. DeKalb got the rebound and Geneva wasn't able to foul in time, sealing the Barbs' 1-point victory.
Ralston had one timeout left. In retrospect, he wished he would have used it.
"There were a couple situations where if I could have a do-over moment and call a timeout and really get our kids organized, maybe it would have been a different outcome," he said.
Ralston was thrilled with the team's defense against Threloff. Michael Santacaterina came off the bench and despite giving up 10 inches to the Illinois State recruit, along with Brandon Beitzel limited Threloff to 7 points and 14 rebounds.
"I thought Michael Santacaterina played with the heart of a lion," Ralston said. "We kind of gave him an assignment and took him to task and the kid stepped up and delivered tonight."
Threloff missed the final six minutes of the first half with 2 fouls. Tied at 16 when he went to the bench, DeKalb was still able to open up a 28-25 halftime lead.
Dan Trimble topped Geneva with 15 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:45 left in regulation that almost held up for the game-winning shot. Scott Wendt (14 points, 8 rebounds) crashed the offensive boards to score three times on putbacks while getting fouled on the shot.
Donnelly's 15 points led DeKalb, who plays its first home game Friday against Glenbard South now with road wins over three of the top WSC challengers: Kaneland, Batavia and Geneva.
"It's really big for us," Donnelly said. "Now that we are 3-0 that makes us a bigger target for teams wanting to get us. We just have to step up every game."