Geneva survives scare from Wheaton Academy
One could nearly feel Nate Navigato's will to avoid one of this boys basketball season's biggest upsets.
The Geneva senior scored 32 points, more than half the Vikings' total, and scored on a leaner with 30 seconds left against inspired Wheaton Academy for a 54-53 Geneva victory and third place at the 49th annual East Aurora Holiday Tournament on Tuesday.
"Tough loss yesterday," the 6-foot-7 swingman said of Monday's loss to Neuqua Valley. "I knew there was no way I was losing this game tonight. I just honestly went as hard as I can, as fast as I can, as long as I can and do anything I could to help the team win."
Lacking center Loudon Vollbrecht, in street clothes with back tightness after a Monday tumble, Geneva (10-2) shook off a lull that had them trailing after one quarter and 31-26 at halftime.
"I'm sure a lot of us - probably all of us - were a little down about not being in a championship. Maybe that accounted to our slow start, not really ready for it, but it kicked back in," said Navigato, 12 of 19 from the floor with three 3-pointers plus 5 rebounds, 3 steals.
"That might have been one of the more inspirational efforts I think I've seen, that was just gritty," Vikings coach Phil Ralston said.
One could say the same about Wheaton Academy. Comparatively undersized with no all-tournament selections as opposed to Geneva's Navigato and Vollbrecht, once Bryce Sandberg laced the Warriors' first shot for a 3 it was game-on.
Sandberg said the Warriors' doggedness had nothing to do with the Fuzak brothers, Bennett and Chandler, who played with Wheaton Academy last season and transferred to Geneva this summer.
"We like them and we miss them but we're just trying to play hard every game, play our game," said Sandberg, whose 14 points led the Warriors ahead of Christian Smith's 12. "And our game is really just giving everything we have every minute on the floor, and so we try to do that every game so it's not like this is anything special."
It was special seeing the 4-10 Warriors challenging one of Chicagoland's most highly regarded units, players like reserve guard Dan Vasko hassling the Buffalo-bound Navigato.
Junior Anthony Polinski sank a 3 with 2.1 seconds before halftime to put the Warriors up 31-26.
Fouled on a 3-point try, Smith made all 3 free throws for a 36-29 lead at 5:49 of the third quarter, and Wheaton Academy led until Navigato and active Mike Landi forged a 38-38 tie entering the fourth quarter.
The teams swapped leads down the stretch, Landi making 2 free throws with 1:30 to play, Sandberg following his own miss with a putback for a 53-52 Wheaton Academy lead with 45 seconds left.
After Navigato's game-winner - "I was just trying to create," he said - Wheaton Academy coach Pete Froedden took a timeout, and Smith launched a 28-footer with 6-10 Chandler Fuzak closing hard. The ball bounced away off the backboard.
"This is the kind of a game where you're really in a no-win situation if you're in our shoes," Ralston said. "We should beat them being a 4A school and - we would like to hope - one of the better teams. But they came out and played very inspired basketball, really took it to us, made it a tough game."