Batavia wins 2nd straight at Elgin Tournament
Through the years Batavia has learned a lot about itself at the Elgin Holiday Tournament, which included the 2005 and 2007 titles.
The lessons are starting to take shape again in 2009, and once again there's a lot to like.
Ricky Clopton's 28 points and 13 rebounds powered Batavia to a 67-58 win over Glenbrook South Wednesday. It was the Bulldogs' second straight victory after a disappointing loss to Geneva last Friday and a narrow defeat to Rolling Meadows Monday.
"It was a big lift this week, we needed it after our two-game slide," junior guard Jesse Coffey said. "We came out with a lot more energy I thought today against a better team too."
The Bulldogs also got double-digit production from Coffey and Elliot Vaughn, 10 rebounds by Adam LeTourneau and 11 bench points by Sam Shump and Cole Gardner. They outshot, outrebounded and led the Titans by as many as 17 points late in the fourth quarter.
Batavia (7-4) will play for the consolation championship at 3:15 p.m. against Highland Park, a team led by former Bull Toni Kukoc's son Marin, a 6-foot-7 senior.
"We did a good job playing off each other," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "Rick was huge in the middle part of the game but he also dumped down for some nice looks for Elliot and Cole."
Glenbrook South (3-7) led 17-13 after the first quarter before the Bulldogs quickly took control in the second. Clopton started it with a basket, then found Coffey for a 3-pointer that gave Batavia an 18-17 lead it never relinquished.
Clopton poured in 18 points in the first half, which ended with Batavia leading 33-25.
"I felt pretty good warming up," Clopton said. "We did a real good job running certain sets to get me the ball in the right spots. The guys did a good job of feeding me. I was feeling a little hot. It was good to keep it going and get a win."
The Titans got as close as 45-41 in the second half before Coffey's two free throws put Batavia ahead 47-41 after three quarters.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 63-46 with two minutes remaining. The Titans sent an extra defender at Clopton much of the fourth quarter. While that prevented Clopton from attempting a shot in the final eight minutes, he did hit all four of his free throws.
He also found Shump for a 3-pointer, LeTourneau twice assisted Gardner for easy baskets and Coffey made a strong drive for a three-point play as Batavia played a near perfect stretch until a late 10-0 Titans burst made the final score closer.
"That's (the Geneva loss) motivation for us to get better and play harder," Coffey said. "It shows us where we need to be. Shows us how much harder we have to work."
Jack Ryan led the Titans with 19 points and Corey McMahon added 15.
"We hung in there with them and defensively fought them pretty hard," Roberts said. "It was a big win for us."