Geneva takes first meeting over Batavia

Connor Quinn will have a lasting memory of his most important contribution to Geneva denying archrival Batavia in a crucial early-season Western Sun Conference basketball game.

Batavia was in the process of a furious comeback, slicing three separate 15-point third-quarter deficits to a two-possession game late in the fourth quarter.

There was less than a minute to play when a Batavia post player was seemingly assured of an inside deuce to cut the Vikings' lead to two.

But Quinn, a reserve junior forward, had a coming-out-of-nowhere block.

Batavia retained possession, but an errant 3-pointer was snared by Geneva; the Bulldogs never scored again, and the Vikings hung on for a 61-55 victory before a frenzied near-capacity crowd in Geneva on Friday night.

"It was the play of the game," said Quinn. "He went up and I tried to time (my leap)."

"I've never seen him jump that high in my life," said Geneva coach Phil Ralston.

Geneva, which begins its five-game holiday tournament in DeKalb with a matinee against Wilmington today, improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.

Batavia, which travels to Elgin Monday morning to face Rolling Meadows, fell to 5-3, 2-2.

Both teams struggled offensively out of the gate, and Geneva forced Batavia into missing 9 of its 11 second-quarter field-goal attempts to take a 19-15 lead into halftime.

But it was an entirely different affair after the intermission.

"We told them at halftime we wanted to make some adjustments on our press," Ralston said. "We think that really disrupted things (for Batavia)."

Geneva was collectively on fire in the third quarter, converting 10-for-16 from the field to more than offset its offensively indifferent first-half play.

Erupting for 25 points in the quarter, Geneva unleashed a 15-2 burst in the opening three-plus minutes to extend its lead to 34-19.

Brandon Beitzel was relatively quiet in the frame, producing a 3-point play as his only offense.

But the senior was a force in the first half, scoring 10 of his team-high 20 points; the undersized center then became the sole Geneva player to score from the field in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs mounted their frenzied comeback.

"You have to box out," said Beitzel, who also collected 10 rebounds playing against the Bulldogs' taller frontline. "You have to be in the right place at the right time. We were patient on offense (in the third quarter) and waited for the openings."

Nolan Block and Dan Trimble were the prime assassins for Geneva in the third quarter, which ended with the Vikings holding a 44-30 lead.

The two combined for 18 points in the frame; Block and Trimble augmented Beitzel with double-digit performances of their own with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Ricky Clopton and Elliott Vaughn were equally sensational for Batavia in the final eight minutes.

Clopton scored 14 of his 23-points in the quarter, and his 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining brought Batavia to within 59-55.

Vaughn finished with 11 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"I though Rick was very active," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "I was proud of the way the kids fought back."