Batavia attacks, beats Sycamore at the foul line

The ability to get to the free-throw line and make opponents pay for their fouls has long been a basketball staple.

Batavia (16-7, 9-4) accomplished both Friday night, as Ricky Clopton and Jesse Coffey combined to shoot 23-for-28 at the free-throw line, including 13-of-16 in the pivotal fourth quarter, during its 68-63 Western Sun Conference triumph over host Sycamore (11-13, 3-9).

Clopton, who scored a game-high 30 points with 11 rebounds and was 16-of-20 at the foul line, and Coffey, who chipped in with 22 points, accounted for 18 of the Bulldogs' 20 fourth-quarter points.

"I think Ricky was dynamite down the stretch, as was Jesse," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said of his dynamic duo. "I thought both those guys were very gutsy in their stepping to the line."

Clopton, who at one point made 10 consecutive free throws, also displayed his toughness in the opening minute of the fourth quarter after crumbling to the floor via a hard foul under the basket.

"That was hard," said Clopton. "It just was a weird fall. My head hurts a little but I'm fine."

"He fought through it and played like a three-year senior needed to play," Roberts said of Clopton.

Batavia, which won its third straight game, jumped out to a 15-10 first-quarter lead before being outscored 18-12 in the second period and trailed 28-27 at halftime.

The pace quickened in the third quarter, as the teams combined for 40 points in back-and-forth action that saw 11 lead changes and 2 ties. Relying on an attack-the-basket approach, the Spartans' first 7 baskets of the period came on driving layups.

"We were very content to trade baskets," said Roberts, "and that's a very dangerous thing to do whether it's at home or on the road. We were very fortunate."

A late layup by Clopton enabled the Bulldogs to go up 48-47 after 3 quarters.

The last of Coffey's five 3-pointers helped extend the margin to 55-50 with 5:21 remaining and a putback by Elliot Vaughn, who had 10 of his 11 rebounds in the second half, pushed the lead to 59-50 with 4:29 left.

A three-point play by junior Sam Ford (team-high 20 points) cut the lead to 59-56 with 2:02 remaining before Coffey and Clopton helped put the game away with 9-of-10 foul shooting over the final 1:48.

"I wanted the ball in my hands toward the end of the game," said Clopton, who finished just 1 point shy of his season high (at Yorkville Jan. 15). "Jesse stepped up, too. I was calling him '96' because that's his free-throw percentage (for the season).

"If we shoot like that every time, I think we're going to have a good chance no matter what."

"Clopton does a real good job of head and shoulder fakes and he leans in all the time," said Spartans coach Jeff Hillmer. "He's a good shooter and he finishes."

Roberts was a bit nostalgic after his team's final Western Sun visit to Sycamore.

"There have been some great games in the 40 years I've been coming out here as a kid, a player and a coach - some great memories with tough wins and tough losses."