Simeon edges Batavia in 2 OTs

Feb. 2, 2008

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."

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.

Batavia's largest lead in the game was in the fourth quarter. With Simeon leading 44-42 with 6:38 on the clock, Nick 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.

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 Stan Simpson led Simeon with 23 points and 10 rebounds.