Boys basketball: Batavia caps Night of Hoops with win over Hinsdale Central

It’s been quite the start to the new year for Batavia.

Entering Saturday’s matchup against Hinsdale Central, the Bulldogs had been winners of eight of their first nine contests of 2026.

And in front of the home crowd in the 32nd annual Jim & Sylvia Roberts Night of Hoops, they wanted to keep it going.

The Bulldogs kept the momentum going, using stout defense and scoring sprees to take a 55-37 victory over the Red Devils.

“We were really good at winning those one-possession games in November and early December, but this group is very coachable,” Bulldogs coach Jim Nazos said. “They see things when they’re not good and start discussing amongst each other on how to improve. And I think we still have the best ahead of us.”

Senior Brett Berggren led the scoring efforts for the Bulldogs (13-8) with 15 points, with seven coming in the fourth quarter. Senior Xavier Justice was close behind with 13.

Junior Dane Farrar (5 points) led the defensive efforts in the victory, picking up 10 rebounds while adding three steals and two blocks.

Hinsdale Central (8-13) struggled against the potent Bulldog defense, shooting only 32% (13 of 40) from the floor and only making 4-of-15 3-pointers on the night.

“Batavia just played us extremely well,” Red Devils coach Nick Latorre said. “Their defense was very aggressive and took us out of pretty much anything that we wanted to do. They were definitely that we struggled out there offensively.”

The lone Red Devil that showed very little signs of struggle on offense was Cole Bero. The senior finished the night with a career-high 26 points, which included knocking down all of the team’s 3-pointers, and also added three steals.

“He probably had the best game of his life out there,” Latorre said. “He was just really aggressive and whenever he’s knocking down his shots, it really makes a big difference for him.”