Kaneland runs by Batavia
The faster the pace, the happier Kaneland boys basketball coach Brian Johnson will be this winter.
The Knights might not have much height but they are making up for it with guard play. Kaneland showed glimpses of their up-tempo style during a 55-42 victory over Batavia Saturday night in the final game of the 36th annual Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic.
Kaneland (2-1) never trailed in the game but found itself in a 17-17 tie midway through the second quarter. The Knights closed the half with an 11-1 run to go into halftime up 28-18, then came out just as strong in the third quarter to break the game open.
“They harp every day on getting out and running,” Johnson said. “I think we have guys who can finish. I think we have a team that will at times have five guards on the floor and I think we can use that to our advantage. That has been a teaching point of ours for the first two weeks.”
Marcel Neil, a transfer from West Aurora, scored 7 straight points midway through the third quarter on a drive, a 3-point basket, and a steal he converted with a lay-in. Neil finished with 17 points to tie teammate Trever Heinle for scoring honors.
Kaneland outscored Batavia (1-2) 14-4 to start the second half for 25-5 stretch spanning the late second quarter to early fourth that opened up a 42-22 cushion.
“My senior year I want to go out with a bang,” said Heinle, whose 17 points Saturday followed a 27-point night Friday and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. “My teammates are pushing me just as hard as I’m pushing them in practice. It’s a huge win to win on their home court in front of their fans.”
Kaneland finished second in the tournament, losing only by 1 point to St. Francis in its opener. Tyler Heinle added 9 points, Dan Miller 7 and Bryan VanBogaert came off the bench to tie Miller with a game-high 8 rebounds.
The Knights played the entire tournament without Drew David, their starting point guard who Johnson hopes to have back in the lineup Friday against Morris when they open defense of their 2010-11 Northern Illinois Big 12 East title.
“I’m very happy,” Johnson said. “We have some inexperience with guys in the starting lineup and playing a ton of minutes and we were able to do some very nice things. Very excited moving forward. We’ll have the target on our back for sure.”
Batavia found itself in an uphill battle before the game even started with 6-foot-6 senior Cole Gardner in street clothes after injuring his knee during a fall in Friday’s loss to St. Francis.
The Bulldogs then lost junior Zach Strittmatter in the fourth quarter with an injured right ankle.
“He (Strittmatter) came down on it awkwardly,” Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. “Gardner, he fell on it last night. Our trainer thought he fell directly on his knee and there was some swelling. Did not have a lot of range motion.”
Batavia was in an absolute offensive funk for most of the game until about the final six minutes when it scored nearly as many points — 20 — as the entire first three-plus quarters — 22.
The Bulldogs made just 9-of-36 shots from the floor through three quarters and 5-of-16 free throws in the game.
“I think we’ve done a good job of getting to the line,” Roberts said. “It’s pretty self-evident we haven’t capitalized on it. I think we do have some good free-throw shooters.”
Jake Pollack, who joined Gardner as an all-tourney selection, led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Strittmatter had 11 before leaving with his ankle injury.
Roberts wants to see his team use the fourth quarter as an example of how to play aggressively going forward.
“The kids started playing off each other,” Roberts said. “It was like OK, let’s just attack. I think we’ve been very unsure of ourselves up to this point. Hopefully that will provide a little glimpse of what can be done. We just played. If you hesitate then all of a sudden nothing takes place and the defense becomes that more intense.”
St. Francis 57, Crystal Lake South 41: In the first game Saturday St. Francis (3-0) wrapped up the tournament championship with a 57-41 victory over Crystal Lake South (0-3).#147;Three great games as far as good effort,#148; St. Francis coach Bob Ward said. #147;I thought we played pretty decent defense. You can use them for diagnosis purposes early on. You can see areas you have to build on. To come here with a good field and a great tournament like this and to go 3-0 that is a great way for us to start.#148;Ryan Coyle, who won his second straight tournament MVP award, led the Spartans with 25 points.Zach Roswald, who also made the all-tournament team, added 20 points. Nick Donati was named the tournament#146;s most inspirational player.#147;I was pleased the last two games with our defense,#148; Ward said. #147;We still have not put together a full game. We#146;re trying to get two deep at every position so a lot of kids played and contributed. It was a team tournament championship and that#146;s what you are looking for.#148;