Preston helps Geneva avenge loss to Batavia
Josh Preston had a simple objective on Friday.
The Geneva senior forward wanted to deliver payback for his team's earlier loss to local rival Batavia. Preston's anger stemmed from losing his final game against the Bulldogs at home.
"There was no doubt in my mind that we were not coming out of here with a loss," Preston said. "I was going to do anything I could to help us win this game. That loss was one of the worst experiences of my high school basketball career. The Geneva and Batavia game is such a rivalry, so losing to them, especially at home, gave them all the bragging rights. We had to come out here and beat them, to even it out."
Preston did his part to avoid a sweep, scoring 18 points to power Geneva to a 54-48 road victory over Batavia in DuKane Conference play.
Drew Johnson poured in 11 points and Nathan Valentine added seven for the Vikings. Jayden Johnson finished with 24 points for the Bulldogs.
The 6-foot-5 Preston, a University of Chicago commit, came out strong, setting the tone with nine points in the first quarter to give the Vikings (14-11, 4-7) a 13-6 lead that they would not relinquish despite a late rally by the Bulldogs (13-12, 4-7).
"This win was amazing, especially since this is our last game here and they beat us at home," Preston. "I cannot express how great this was. I think this gives us a huge boost, especially going into regionals. We still have three conference games left, have to still get seeded, so this helps us."
The Vikings built a double-digit lead in the third quarter, capped by a strong drive for a left-handed layup by Preston.
"Josh Preston was outstanding, just attacking the rim and still playing strong despite getting early fouls," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said.
The Bulldogs clawed back behind a solid performance by Johnson. The bruising senior guard canned a 3-pointer and added six free throws to cut the gap to 52-48 with 19.4 seconds left, but Valentine buried two free throws to close out the win. The junior point guard scored all seven of his points from the free-throw line, plus added a key hustle play for a loose ball near halfcourt that led to a basket by Quin McNeive to pad the lead to 47-39 at the 2:05 mark.
"I felt like Valentine did a great job running the show even though it might not show in the box score," Hennig said. "They did a great job on him. Nathan got good looks and ran our stuff. I'm proud of the team. This was a big win."
The Bulldogs missed their final two shots to spoil an opportunity for a season sweep of the Vikings.
"They got on us early and played really well and withstood our storm at the end," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "Geneva handled the run well, but we can't put ourselves in a hole and fight back. It was a team loss. We have to come back Saturday. We're seeking consistency."