Geneva's 'D' denies WeGo

It was Ben Rogers' turn to chase Tuesday night, and that was music to the ears of the Geneva senior.

Rogers stayed on West Chicago's 17-point per game scorer Justin Mundt most of the game, holding him to a single point in the first half and 7 for the game.

Connor Chapman provided the bulk of Geneva's offense while joining Rogers with an excellent defense game. It all added up to a 42-35 victory for the Vikings who were able to quickly erase Saturday's 75-35 loss to No. 16 St. Viator ahead of big weekend matchups with No. 1 Elgin Friday and Batavia at the Sears Centre Saturday.

"Mundt was pretty difficult to chase," Rogers said. "They weren't getting him the ball much but I felt like he was all over the place. It felt like he was constantly running off double screens."

Rogers or Mark Becker typically handles the role of chaser for the Vikings. Phil Lorenz and Brendan Leahy also have had their turns.

Rogers said he always looks forward to the challenge.

"It was tiring I'm not going to lie but the coaches said at the beginning of the game it is your job to shut him down," Rogers said. "That's the first thing that was written in our game plan.

"Mundt for sure (was getting frustrated). He's used to playing well and scoring a lot of points so to get him out of the comfort zone was the key."

West Chicago (3-12) never led but also kept the deficit within 2 to 6 points most of the game.

Wildcats coach Kevin Baldus said 7 missed free throws in 16 attempts and 2-of-15 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter were as big of factors as Geneva's defense on Mundt.

"We saw them do it vs. Maine East," Baldus said. "It wasn't something we were surprised at. It was kind of a role reversal to use Justin for other kids. We make our free throws and we make some closer shots around the basket I don't think we have to worry about being unhappy. We came up short when we had to make plays."

The 6-foot-5 Chapman made life tough for the Wildcats around the basket with 3 blocked shots and 9 rebounds while altering several other attempts. He also led all scorers with 13 points.

"Chapman played a whale of a game," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "That was a career game for him. He was unbelievable at both ends of the floor. He had great looks and worked his tail off in the post."

Chapman opened the scoring with the first of his five baskets in the paint. Josh Gimre's drive tied the game at 2 just one of two ties in the game with the other at 23.

Geneva led 9-5 after the first quarter and 15-11 at halftime. Both offenses picked up a little in the third quarter, with Becker's three-point play giving the Vikings the lead for good at 26-23.

The Vikings only made 1 field goal in the fourth quarter but were able to sink 13 of 15 free throws after not getting to the line in the first half.

"We'll take it," Ralston said. "It was a struggle tonight. West Chicago is a lot better than their record.

"We really struggled offensively ourselves at times. Our shot selection was good. We just couldn't get the ball down."

Lorenz added 9 points for Geneva.

John Konchar came off the bench to lead West Chicago with 10 points.

"A lot of what we tried to do (defensively) is out of complete respect for what the Mundt kid is capable of doing," Ralston said. "Our goal was to make it as difficult to score as possible and make other guys bail them out. I think by and large it worked."