Tripleheader not too much for Batavia
It was Cubs legend Ernie Banks who always wanted to play two, but maybe the Batavia boys basketball team can one-up the Hall of Famer and tell us how much they like to play three.
That's as in three games in a row, a rare feat seldom seen other than Christmas tournaments. The Bulldogs pulled it off last weekend.
While it might seem natural to think a team would wear out as the games went on, Batavia (3-3) only got better. The Bulldogs followed an 8-point loss to St. Charles North on Thursday by beating St. Charles East Friday and then pulling out a 69-67 win Saturday night at Quincy.
There was several reasons for the improved play, not the least of which was the lights-out shooting by senior guard Jesse Coffey. He drained six 3-pointers against both St. Charles East and Quincy and scored 22 and 24 points, respectively.
Then there's Batavia's inside game. Cole Gardner scored all 19 of his points against Quincy in the second half a night after he had 16 points and 14 rebounds against the Saints.
The 6-foot-5 Gardner is bringing the strength that made him an All-Area defensive end in football to the basketball court, overpowering most of the players who try to keep him off the glass.
“I've always had aggressiveness when I play,” Gardner said. “Coming in from football to basketball I kind of keep that football with me.”
That mentality also can lead to his share of fouls. After fouling out of two games at the Ken Peddy Classic, Gardner also picked up five against both St. Charles schools last week.
Coach Jim Roberts said Gardner needs to “continue working on playing with balance, not leaving his feet on shot fakes.”
“It (fouls) frustrates me sometimes but it's going to happen when you are big,” Gardner said. “They (officials) look at you. Sometimes things that don't get called on little guys get called on us.”
Gardner's partner inside Elliott Vaughn added 18 points against Quincy, giving the Vaughn-Gardner-Coffey trio 61 of the Bulldogs' 69 points.
Vaughn and Gardner first teamed up at Batavia when Vaughn was a sophomore and Gardner was a freshman playing up on the sophomore team.
“When he was up we almost won conference,” Vaughn said. “We just high-lowed each other. I think him inside with me is something we should really exploit against some other teams if we can stay out of foul trouble.”
Smooth transition: The team to beat the Bulldogs in that stretch last weekend, St. Charles North, recently learned its draw for the Jacobs Holiday Classic.
A championship there would mean a lot for the North Stars, who have finished as the runner-up the past three years.
Last season Barrington beat St. Charles North in the championship. The previous two years they lost to Jacobs.
The North Stars will see Barrington again in pool play along with Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South. The tournament begins Dec. 18 and ends Dec. 23.
This will be sophomore Quinten Payne's first chance to take part. The 6-foot-4 transfer from Florida scored 16 points last week in the win over Batavia and said his older teammates have helped make the adjustment easier.
“The guys are unbelievable,” Payne said. “You don't see too many upperclassmen looking for the extra pass to the younger kid. I fit in great. Coach (Tom) Poulin has been a huge help to that.”
In last week's win over Batavia, Poulin pulled Payne after a shot the coach didn't like. He quickly put Payne back in after discussing it, a method of teaching Payne said he liked. He also praised the coach's attention to the players' lives off the court.
“In school, grades-wise, he's checking you every day,” Payne said. “Everyone on the team can't let up a day.
“On the court if you take a bad shot he's going to let you know but then he's going to encourage you. He'll never cut you down for a bad shot. He teaches you, a great teacher.”
Payne and his teammates all wanted to do better than a 1-3 record at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament but are trying to turn the losses into a long-term benefit.
“We learned a lot from that tournament,” Payne said. “We have to play a lot better than we did there.
“The summer is so different. When you play against a team that is trapping, switching defenses up (during the season). I think we did a great job of really getting together (against Batavia).”
Payne's older brother Cully is recovering from a hernia at Iowa. Cully committed to his first college as a freshman and eventually switched from DePaul to Alabama to Iowa.
It's a process Quinten says has made him wiser after watching it first-hand.
“I learned a lot from him going through the whole process,” Payne said. “I just take it game-by-game, that's (a college decision) far in the future.”
Looking ahead: While Batavia catches its breath this week with only Friday game against Larkin on the schedule, several teams play two or three games.
Kaneland, fresh off a win at Morris Friday behind freshman Danny Helm's 20 points, plays its former Western Sun Conference foe Glenbard South Tuesday night. Geneva (Streamwood) and Aurora Central (South Elgin) also are in midweek action.
Friday night could be yet another milestone for West Aurora legend Gordie Kerkman, just one win away from 700 in his 35th year coaching the Blackhawks. West Aurora (3-2) can get that victory when it hosts Naperville North.
Kerkman's numbers include 16 conference championships, 20 regional titles, 10 sectional crowns, 8 trips to the Elite Eight and five finishes in the top four at state. The 2000 team won the state championship and the 1980, 1984 and 1997 teams all finished in the top four.