Second-half surge lifts Batavia past Glenbard West
Adam LeTourneau supplied the dagger with a little under three minutes to play.
In the second play-in game of the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley boys basketball regional on Monday night in Aurora, the Batavia senior guard nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to conclude an 18-6 run against Glenbard West.
Turnovers and second-chance points down the stretch were the difference for Batavia, which overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit against the Hilltoppers to win 67-60. The Bulldogs (18-8), the No. 12 seed in the Neuqua Valley sectional complex, earned a date with fifth-seeded Oswego East (22-4) Wednesday night. Glenbard West concluded its year at 3-23.
"We never felt like we were that far behind," said Batavia forward Ricky Clopton, who scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. "The (full-court) press caused a lot of turnovers (in the second half). Elliot (Vaughn) and Levi (Maxey) did an awesome job on the boards. That's what we need to do from here on out."
Michael Mache scored 5 straight points to open the third quarter to extend the Hilltoppers' 30-24 halftime lead to 35-24, but Batavia responded in kind. Clopton had a 6-point personal run of his own to bring Batavia within 35-32, and the rest of the quarter was played in back-and-forth action from end to end.
Matthew Mache had a 3-pointer a second before the buzzer to give Glenbard West a 47-43 lead entering the fourth quarter, only to see Batavia score the first 5 points of the period to grab its first lead since early in the second quarter.
In the most telling sequence of the dominant Batavia run to start the quarter, Vaughn scored on the Bulldogs' fourth attempt on the same possession to up their lead to 58-53. LeTourneau then connected on his third 3-pointer on the ensuing possession with two minutes and 53 seconds to play to give Batavia its largest lead at 61-53.
"I'm very proud of the kids' effort," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "Obviously you don't want to get into that situation (a double-digit deficit). I think (the combination of rebounding and defensive pressure) was the big difference."
Jesse Coffey had 11 of his 15 points in the opening half for Batavia, which also had double-digit efforts from Letourneau (11 points) and Maxey (10).
"All of their guys are dangerous," Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder said. "We lost their shooters a few times in transition. We've got to handle pressure and control the glass."
Michael Mache had 21 to lead Glenbard West; Matthew Mache and Nick Burrello added 10 points apiece.