Streamwood hangs on to stun Batavia

For the most part, host Streamwood played like a team tired of losing Wednesday night.

So, Batavia played like a losing team that looked tired? Not entirely.

But something was amiss for the Bulldogs, who dropped their fifth straight game when the Sabres held on for a 51-49 Upstate Eight River Division boys basketball victory.

Streamwood guard Brandon Larkin-Giulfoyle cut through the Bulldogs on a variety of crossover dribble drives to post a team-high 20 points to go along with 6-foot-9 center Zach Harris' 9 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Harris was playing in only his second game after recovering from a fractured ankle he suffered in practice prior to the start of the season.

Batavia (4-10, 1-4) has a potential fracture of its own to worry about as junior point guard Mike Rueffer crashed to the floor on his elbow midway through the third quarter with his team trailing 31-28 and did not return.

"I've never felt that kind of pain," Rueffer said. "I will go to the hospital to have it checked out, but the trainer thinks it's possibly a fracture."

That did not bode well for Batavia, which scuffled through the first half because of early foul trouble for center Cole Gardner, who had 8 points and 2 blocked shots in just six minutes of action before taking a seat and not returning until the third quarter.

By that time, Streamwood (4-12, 1-3) had gained some confidence because Larkin-Giulfoyle was on his way to scoring 15 first-half points and Harris chipped in with 6 of his points.

"We definitely try to get the ball into the middle on offense and go to the bucket or kick it out," Larkin-Giulfoyle said of his numerous drives to the basket. "I was getting by my man a little bit and it definitely helped us out."

Batavia coach Jim Roberts had a slightly different viewpoint on Larkin-Giulfoyle getting by his man "a little bit."

"We did a little too much reaching and we did not recover and they made us pay," Roberts said. "Larkin-Giulfoyle had a huge second quarter and found a way to get into the paint and cause us real damage."

Batavia tried to overcome that damage with a quick charge early in the second half, but after Rueffer went down Streamwood maintained a 38-34 lead heading into the final quarter.

After Brent Kiesel nailed a 3-pointer and Larkin-Giulfoyle scored off a steal for a 43-35 lead, Batavia took another deep breath when Gardner hobbled off the floor rubbing his knee with less than 5 minutes left in the game.

Gardner returned to the game and when he powered inside for a 3-point play at the 1:18 mark, Batavia had pulled within 47-44 and looked poised to somehow pull out the victory.

But Streamwood stayed calm in sinking 4 free throws down the stretch, making Micah Coffey's 3-pointer at the buzzer a moot point.

"We hung in there and took care of the ball, and we made free throws when we had to make them," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "This is the mantra of our team, in January we start to come into our own and start playing better."

Batavia enjoyed a 37-31 rebounding edge, led by Gardner's team-high 10, while Luke Horton added 9. Harris, meanwhile, yanked down 8 of his 12 rebounds in the second half and 4 in the game's final two minutes.

"My ankle feels pretty good right now, just a little sore, but it is getting better," Harris said. "The last two minutes of the game seemed like it took forever, but Batavia's a really good team."

Roberts knows Batavia would be much better if the Bulldogs could eliminate costly turnovers.

"We got careless with the ball at times and it ended up with us either fouling or them getting a pretty easy transition basket," Roberts added. "I thought the kids down the stretch did a pretty good job of clock management (while trying to come back), and we left it all on the floor at the end."