Gardner’s return sparks Batavia over Larkin
Batavia’s pep band could have played “Welcome Back Gardner” to the tune of “Welcome Back Kotter” Friday night and the Bulldog fans likely would have obliged by singing along.
They were that pleased to see Cole Gardner, their 6-foot-6, 240-pound center, back in action for an Upstate Eight River Division clash against visiting Larkin after missing three games with a knee injury.
And the results were splendid.
Gardner put in a monster effort by scoring a game-high 27 points on an array of low-post moves and yanking down 16 rebounds to lead Batavia to a convincing 57-39 pasting of the Royals.
It wasn’t quite as bad as last year’s rout, when the Bulldogs jolted Larkin 74-40 in Batavia, but Larkin coach Deryn Carter knew his team didn’t measure up to the Bulldogs on this night.
“Batavia did a heck of a job and, having their big guys back, it didn’t seem like they missed a beat,” Carter said. “They are a good team and we didn’t take away some of their strengths as well as they took away ours.”
If the Royals came in figuring their shooting was a strength, the Bulldogs smashed that notion with an aggressive perimeter defense that left Larkin hitting only 14 of 60 shots for 23 percent.
“They weren’t going to give us the open looks we are used to getting,” Carter added. “We’re not used to playing road conference games against high-quality opponents, so it’s a learning experience for us.”
Batavia (2-5, 1-2) also welcomed back forward Zach Strittmatter, who also missed three games. When Gardner and Strittmatter came off the bench early in the first quarter, the nightmare began for Larkin (6-2, 1-1).
Gardner scored three inside baskets to finish the first quarter and give Batavia a 19-11 lead. He scored 8 more points in the second quarter, while teammate Micah Coffey added a 3-pointer and the Bulldogs were rolling with a 34-21 halftime lead.
“My knee felt real good because in practice we just kind of built it back up,” Gardner said. “The guys were making great passes and we were moving the ball well.”
Gardner was receiving passes while moving toward the basket, making it easy for him to cash in layups over Royals centers Antonio Pipes and Daniel McFadden.
Strittmatter provided his spark by scoring all of his 6 points in the third quarter, and feeding Gardner for two inside baskets.
Larkin guard Quantice Hunter scored 7 of his team-high 13 points in the third quarter, but he couldn’t stop Batavia from pulling even farther ahead at 48-32 entering the final quarter.
As if Gardner hadn’t done enough damage, he saved his best for last. Midway through the fourth quarter, Gardner pulled down a rebound, dribbled the length of the court and scored while being fouled, and sank the free throw for a 55-35 lead.
He couldn’t recall ever going coast-to-coast for a conventional three-point play.
“Usually, I get the rebound and pass it out,” Gardner said.
Batavia coach Jim Roberts was happy to see his center back in action, but he pointed to the team’s overall effort as the key.
“Our kids played with great passion, pride and intensity tonight,” Roberts said. “The shots Larkin did hit, I thought we really made them scrap for everything.”
In hoping the slow start to the season is behind his team, Roberts said the Bulldogs’ plan the rest of the way is the same as every other Batavia team he has coached.
“We just want to try to get better every game,” he added.
While Larkin struggled from the floor, Batavia benefited from plenty of scores in the lane to scorch the nets at a 53 percent clip, hitting 26 of 49 shots.
Batavia won the rebounding battle by pulling down 42 to Larkin’s 31. Pipes led the Royals with 10 rebounds.
“We scored 39 points and we are averaging 60, so that’s a testament to Batavia,” Carter said. “That Gardner has gotten so much better, and they did a good job of getting the ball to him.”