Batavia falls in 2 OTs to Simeon

The marquee game at Saturday's Night of Hoops at Batavia sure lived up to expectations.

The Batavia and Simeon boys basketball teams battled it out in a game that went into two overtimes with the Wolverines coming out on top, 68-65.

It was the first time Simeon, the two-time defending Class AA state champions, played in an overtime game this season. The Wolverines improved to 18-2.

"The guys stepped up and sucked it up down the stretch," Simeon coach Robert Smith said. "We had a situation where we could have given up…but we kept our composure and got some key baskets."

Simeon owned most of the second overtime period. After the game was tied at 62 with 1:18 remaining, Stan Simpson and Brandon Orange put up back-to-back buckets to take the 66-62 advantage with 16.8 left in the game.

Nick Fruendt, however, nailed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go that brought the Bulldogs within one point. That would be the last Batavia basket, however.

Kenyon Smith missed 2 free throws but stole the ball and got fouled again. He made a pair of free throws to seal the deal, as Batavia got off a 3-pointer at the buzzer that was off the mark.

The Bulldogs (16-4) had their chances, but missed clutch free throws. They finished the game 13-for-24 at the free throw line.

"I told our kids the good thing is, we got to the line against a pretty good defensive team," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "That's a positive. The negative is, we missed more than we normally make. Hopefully the next time that will happen, we will hit more."

Batavia's largest lead in the game was in the fourth quarter. With Simeon leading 44-42 with 6:38 on the clock, Fruendt went on a personal 7-0 run that gave the Bulldogs the 49-44 advantage with 4:13 left in the game.

"There was probably 3-4 times where I was sure this was our game," Fruendt said.

Simeon, however, answered with a 9-2 run that knotted the game at 51.

In regulation and in the first overtime, Simeon held the ball for a final attempt when the game was tied. In regulation with the game tied at 56, the Wolverines held the ball for the final 1:22, but the Wolverines' shot missed as time expired.

In the first overtime with the game tied at 60, Simeon stalled with 40 seconds remaining. The Wolverines missed their layup attempt and the ball was rebounded by Fruendt, who flung the ball down the court.

The Northwestern-bound Fruendt led all scorers with 29 points, followed by Phil Albrecht's 15 -- 9 of which arrived via 3-pointers in the second quarter.

The 6-foot-9 Simpson led Simeon with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The game was tied 10 times, as neither team led by more than 7 points.

This is the second heart-breaking loss the Bulldogs have suffered recently, as they fell to Marshall, 56-55, at the Sears Centre two weeks ago.

"The neat thing about the heartbreak is we get to put the uniform back on again," Roberts said. "The neat thing about it is you get knocked down, you pick yourself up, pick each other up and you go back at it."

"The season is not over," Albrecht added. "We still have a long way to go."

West Aurora 49, Quincy 40:ŒNight of Hoops turned out to be a good place to be for Aurora basketball teams.

After East Aurora's 67-55 win over St. Joseph, West Aurora took the court against a Quincy team that has taken down two of the best suburban teams this year.

The Blue Devils are 11-8, with two of the wins coming against the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the Daily Herald area, Batavia and Jacobs.

West Aurora (15-4) is No. 3 in those same rankings, but the Blackhawks made sure they wouldn't be the latest to fall to the downstate school, outscoring Quincy 18-5 in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind win.

The win snapped West Aurora's 2-game losing streak. The Blackhawks fell behind 9-4 after the first quarter and didn't lead until the third quarter.

"Usually when our defense picks up, our offense picks up," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerman said. "I thought we were a little lethargic on both ends of the floor (in the first half)."

Tyler Thompson, who will be playing at Quincy College next year, led West Aurora with 14 points. Marquis Stewart added 11 and Marcus Cocroft 9.

Trailing 35-31 entering the fourth quarter, West Aurora took the lead 38-36 on Stewart's 3-pointer with 5:02 to play. Corbin Spearman (8 points) hit a jumper to keep the Blackhawks ahead.

Spearman, Theo Hicks and Cocroft hit 6 straight free throws to seal the win.

After starting 0 of 5 at the free throw line, West Aurora made 14 of its next 16 before finishing 15-23. Quincy got the line just 4 times, making 3.

"When we come out hyped up like we did the second half, we pressure a lot more, and that gets our game going, get transition basket," Stewart said. "We played good. We got the 'W.'"

West Aurora only had 4 turnovers to Quincy's 15, which helped the Blackhawks overcome the Blue Devils' 28-21 rebounding advantage.

"That was a big factor keeping us in the ballgame," Kerkman said.

Jordan Witte led Quincy with 12 points, all on 3-pointers.

"We played against their pressure pretty well, but they turned us over a couple times in the fourth," Quincy coach Sean Taylor said. "They made plays when it counted and we weren't able to."

-- John Lemon