Balanced effort lifts Geneva

Three players reached double figures.

Six players each had 3 assists.

Two players shared team rebounding honors.

Geneva’s basketball team displayed unselfishness and the ability to get easy baskets during its 55-29 nonconference victory over Maine East (2-6) Saturday night in Geneva.

“When people don’t care who scores, it’s amazing what teams can do,” said Geneva coach Phil Ralston, whose team climbed above the .500 mark at 5-4.

With the game tied at 15, the Vikings exploited the Blue Demons’ 2-3 zone defense, as Brendan Leahy (10 points) ignited a 13-0 run with a layup off a give-and-go feed from Drew White.

White and Mark Becker (11 points) also added point-blank baskets during the surge, as the Vikings built a 28-17 halftime advantage.

“When they started out in a zone, we kind of didn’t run it (the offense) so well,” said Ralston. “But the more they stayed in it, the better we got. It was a matter for us to be patient and get what we wanted. The kids have learned that when we do that, we get high-percentage shots.”

Junior power forward Connor Chapman, who scored 13 points during the Vikings’ 57-56 overtime win over Waubonsie Valley Friday night, enjoyed his second straight 13-point effort on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor.

“The coaches want me to rebound and play defense,” said Chapman, who fueled Geneva’s 20-6 bench supremacy. “If I get it in the post or get an open look, they expect me to score.”

Chapman had 6 of his 11 second-half points during the Vikings’ 11-2 surge to start the third quarter.

“We were able to get it inside and get what we wanted,” said Chapman.

“That was building upon what he did last night,” Ralston said of Chapman. “He had a great game last night. I told him afterward that whenever you’ve had a good game, you take a step backward. It’s time to take that big step forward, and that’s what he did tonight.”

Evan Nazzal and Keith Brown-Stillwell had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Maine East, which was limited to 28 percent shooting from the field.

“We saw something that we’ve never seen before,” Maine East coach Dave Genis said of the Vikings’ defensive ploy. “He (Ralston) ran a 1-3 chase against (Aaron) Shannon. I thought we reacted to it pretty well in the first quarter.

“But the thing that has plagued us all along is we tend to lose focus and we stop executing on both ends of the floor. We go scoreless for big stretches of time.”

“We were concerned about him (Shannon),” said Ralston. “We knew he wanted to drive to the basket and we wouldn’t let him get what he wanted.”

Mike Trimble and White each had 6 points for the Vikings, while Ryan Willing added 4 points, 3 steals and 3 assists.

Geneva returns to action Dec. 27 at the East Aurora holiday tournament.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough tournament but since we’re plus-.500 now, we don’t want to look back,” said Chapman. “We just want to keep building on these last couple of wins.”