Batavia runs by Rochelle; Marshall next

Batavia hopes to have a headline-grabbing reason to celebrate when this weekend ends, though the Bulldogs will wait at least one more night to put their dancing shoes on.

Instead of heading to a school dance following an 83-66 win over Rochelle Friday night, the majority of the Bulldogs headed home, resting up for tonight's game at the Sears Centre against Marshall.

"One (player) for sure is going because his girlfriend helped run it, but most of us are going home to get our energy back," said Batavia senior Nick Fruendt, who scored 27 points in his second game back after missing 8 games with mononucleosis.

"It (fatigue) would be a concern if I went to the dance and stayed up till 2 in the morning but I'm going to go home and get a good meal and go to bed. I'll try to take care of myself as best as I can and get ready for the game."

Batavia (15-2, 8-1) couldn't have picked a better Western Sun Conference opponent to play the night before its Marshall game.

Rochelle (11-8, 4-5) had won 10 of its last 12 games, including a 97-84 win last week over Geneva. The Hubs are averaging over 80 points a game and play the same uptempo style Batavia will see from Marshall.

"Rochelle tried to push a lot," Fruendt said. "Marshall will probably look at us and say they can do that. This was a good game to get us ready for tomorrow."

The Hubs were impressive early, scoring the first 5 points and leading throughout the first quarter.

"That was a very good team out there," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "When I've told people we are playing two similar type teams, they kind of snicker. But they (Rochelle) move the ball and stroke the daylights out. They play a style that is tough to defend."

Batavia finally caught Rochelle with four minutes left in the second quarter. Fruendt hadn't scored until that point, but tallied 11 points in a little over two minutes during a 13-2 run that put Batavia ahead 34-26.

The Bulldogs kept that same 8-point margin, 40-32, when Ben Potter tipped in a shot just before the halftime buzzer.

Potter grabbed 6 rebounds off the bench as part of a dominating Batavia effort on the glass. David Bryant pulled down 12 boards, Fruendt 11, Ricky Clopton 7 and Phil Albrecht 6.

"Our kids did a good job gang-rebounding," Roberts said. "It was a team effort."

After Bryant nailed a 3-pointer giving Batavia a 47-36 lead early in the third quarter, Rochelle never again closed within double digits.

Bryant added 21 points, Jordan Smith scored 15 and Albrecht 10. The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 64 percent from the field (32 of 49) from the field, despite hitting only 3 of 15 three-point attempts.

They also made a big believer out of Rochelle coach Russ Zick.

"I wasn't sure how good they are but I am sold on them," Zick said. "I have seen the Aurora teams, I think they are the best. I like them a lot.

"They can shoot you out of a zone. They have kids who can penetrate if things aren't going well. That's a key ingredient they have. They are really getting after it. We were a team that really believed we could come here and win and they made sure we didn't. That's impressive."

Jerry Moffit led Rochelle with 16 points and Matt Nordam added 15.

"We could have made a run at them tonight but we only shot 30 percent," Zick said. "We're a dangerous team if we get on a roll and shoot well. As short as we are we have to shoot well."

Fruendt scored 11 points in his first game back last week against Yorkville. He had that many by halftime against the Hubs, finishing 9 of 11 from the free-throw line and 8 for 15 from the field.

He also got stronger as the game went along, something he said is important as he edges closer to 100 percent.

"First quarter I was trying to get into it, I don't know what was happening," Fruendt said. "Once I got to the free-throw line it kind of relaxed me and I was able to go.

"I felt way better in the second half for some reason, I don't know why. My wind is coming along. That was a good test. They run a lot."

The next test is Marshall, 13-3 and ranked No. 3 in the state's Class 3A rankings. Batavia checks in at No. 7 in Class 4A.

"It is a big, big test for us," Fruendt said. "No matter what, it is going to prepare us for March. I'm just excited for the opportunity."