Geneva rolls over St. Charles North

On a night when Geneva boys basketball coach Phil Ralston would have preferred his team pound the ball inside against host St. Charles North, he got the next best thing instead.

The Vikings deployed a 3-point arsenal, nailing 13 treys from seven different players to notch a 61-34 Upstate Eight River Division rout behind a dominant second half.

St. Charles North (6-15, 3-8) kept the game close at the half, trailing only 24-22, but hit only two 3-pointers and did not have the interior game to counter the taller Vikings.

While Geneva (21-6, 7-4) didn't dominate the game in the paint, the Vikings did get the ball inside enough to open their perimeter game in the second half, outscoring the North Stars 37-12.

"It's amazing how when you get the ball in the post, it opens up the 3-point shot," Ralston said. "Our pep talk at halftime was about how few times we were really looking inside, and that has to be our point of emphasis."

Bennett Fuzak made three 3-pointers to lead the Vikings with 11 points, while Brian Schleicher added 9, including a key 3-pointer to give Geneva a 27-24 lead in the opening seconds of the second half. It was a lead the Vikings would never relinquish.

Cole Navigato, Dominic Navigato and Sean Chambers each added 8 points, while Jordan Vedder had 7, including another alley-oop slam on a pass from Matt Johnston.

Fuzak gave his coach another scare after taking a hard tumble on a loose ball scramble late in the first half, limping off the court. The 6-8 senior forward missed several weeks previously with a concussion.

"As I was falling to the ground, my ankle gave in, and then it got hit and gave in even more," said Fuzak, who returned to give his team a needed boost in the frontcourt.

"Me being down low in the post, helps other people score," Fuzak added. "And we made shot after shot tonight."

The Vikings hit 22 of 42 shots for 52 percent, while the North Stars made only 12 of 33 for 36 percent. Mikey Schroeder had a game-high 12 points for the North Stars.

"We didn't shoot well and we are a team that has to shoot well to compete against teams bigger than us," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "We have to be able to play inside-out and it was something we stressed this week. Their size is a problem, especially when you don't box out."