Geneva gets back on track
Geneva coach Phil Ralston was still smarting a bit from watching his team give up 77 points in a loss to St. Charles East last weekend.
The Vikings nearly blanked visiting Streamwood in the opening quarter on Friday night on the way to a 53-30 Upstate Eight River victory, making it at least a little easier for their coach to put last week in the rearview mirror.
But not entirely.
"We just wanted to play good solid defense tonight," Ralston said. "I'm still irritated about last Saturday. I had to go back 11 years to find a team that scored that much against us and I didn't like that."
Streamwood (0-10, 0-6) provided the proper medicine for his team, even though the Vikings were a bit sluggish offensively in finishing the first quarter with only a 10-2 lead.
But standout forward Nate Navigato was being Nate Navigato for the Vikings, eventually going on to score a game-high 20 points in less than three quarters of action.
Chandler Fuzak put his 6-10 frame to work in the second quarter for Geneva with a hook in the lane, a dunk and two other inside baskets. Fuzak scored nine points in the quarter to help build a 28-15 halftime lead, leaving no doubt the Vikings were going to finish on top.
"Streamwood was hitting a few shots, but we were just trying to run our stuff and we got into a rhythm and came out with the win," Fuzak said. "Our size was definitely a big factor and we just kept trying to pound it inside."
When Sabre guard Joey O'Halloran swished a 3-pointer to start the second half and trim Geneva's lead to 28-18, Navigato answered with two treys of his own. Loudon Vollbrecht and Brandon Schleicher followed with inside baskets to restore order.
Ten players scored for Geneva (7-1, 3-1) in the game, as Ralston played his reserves for much of the second half.
"We played some good defense last week in stretches, but this was better tonight," Ralston said. "Streamwood's kids played hard and are getting better, they were very competitive with us."
Streamwood committed 12 first-half turnovers and struggled to find shots against the Vikings' taller frontline. In fact, the Sabres made six 3-pointers and six 2-pointers in the game, with only two coming inside the paint.
"When you can't make shots, it leaves something to be desired," Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn said. "But what we did do well today was pass the ball and keep our heads up while dribbling. We looked for open guys and executed well.
"We played hard and I am proud of that," Kowalyszyn added. "It's a work in progress, but we were better tonight."
Kowalyszyn smiled when saying the conference schedule makers had it in for his team by making it play St. Charles East on Thursday, then turn around and play Geneva on Friday.
"Sort of a funny way to say happy holidays, I guess," he said.
Geneva parlayed its height advantage into a 28-9 edge on the boards, with 6-10 Chandler Fuzak, 6-7 Bennett Fuzak and 6-7 Navigato each pulling down four rebounds.