Batavia hangs on for tense victory at Quincy

Boys basketball

Batavia 69, Quincy 67: Batavia watched a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Quincy’s Michael Schmitt rim out at the buzzer to earn a heart-pounding victory in Saturday’s non-conference road contest.

Batavia senior guard Jesse Coffee connected on six 3-pointers as part of a game-high 24-point effort.

Cole Gardner and Elliott Vaughn did the damage on the inside for the Bulldogs (3-3) with 19 and 18 points respectively, while grabbing 9 rebounds apiece.

Batavia enjoyed a 39-21 rebounding advantage and hit 15 of 19 free throw attempts, including 10 of 11 in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils (3-2) connected on only 5 of 8 of their free throw attempts.

Trailing 60-58 with two minutes to play, Quincy’s Martin Kvitle drilled a 3-pointer from the top for a 61-60 lead.

Batavia regained the lead for good at 64-61 as Mike Rueffer and Gardner each made a pair of free throws.

Aurora Central Catholic 60, Walther Lutheran 57: Senior Ryan Herreld dropped in 26 points as the Chargers (2-4, 1-1) notched a Suburban Christian Gold Conference road win.

College basketball

Aurora University 89, Millikin University 51: Josh Gabbard delivered a solid all-around performance with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots as Aurora University notched a home non-conference victory Saturday afternoon.

Joel Iventosch contributed 10 points and 4 assists for the Spartans (2-4) while Tyrone Carey had 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Pete Carlson added 9 points and 3 assists.