Batavia gets shots to fall against WW South
Struggling from beyond the 3-point arc in the opening half Saturday, Batavia's coaches told the Bulldogs to keep shooting.
That turned out to be sound advice.
Knocking down six 3s over the final two quarters, Batavia came back from a 13-point deficit to notch a 48-43 boys basketball road victory over Wheaton Warrenville South.
Kyle Neibch hit four of those 3s and finished with 20 points in the DuKane Conference matchup while Tyler Cooper made the go-ahead 3 with 2:15 left.
"The coaches said to keep shooting and we all got confidence off that," Neibch said. "And then once we saw the first one go in, it felt like everyone was going in after that.
"(The Tigers) grind it out. But we grinded back from 13 down. It felt like we never gave up. That's what is so great about our team, we keep doing our thing and it pays off."
Devin Cheaney, limited at the outset by foul trouble, also came to life after halftime. He scored 5 points in the third quarter as the visitors sliced the margin to 35-30. The 6-foot-8 senior finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.
"That's a hard place to play," Cheaney said. "They have a great student section, lots of fans. Being down 13 and getting that win, that is a huge win for us. Probably the biggest win of the year.
"Offensively, we've been going very well all season. Being able to stop their motion (offense) defensively showed what we are capable of the rest of the season."
Batavia (7-7, 2-2) trailed 24-11 late in the second quarter before a 9-0 spurt got the Bulldogs within striking distance. Jayden Johnson added 11 points and 6 rebounds.
"They are very good, very disciplined," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "One mistake and they capitalize on that. We had to make some plays to win. That was a great win against a great team on the road."
The Tigers (9-6, 1-3) were led by the 13 points from both Ben Bastian and Yonatan Algawerash, who also had 3 steals. Parker Brown chipped in with 11 points and 6 rebounds for WW South, which was coming off a runner-up finish at the Bloomington State Farm Classic.
"We just didn't find shooters," WW South coach Mike Healy said. "We did some decent things, we just need to make some more plays, mental plays too. We lost shooters and they weren't guys we were surprised could shoot it nor surprised about where they could shoot it from."