Fuzak, Geneva have no problem with Huntley

Geneva coach Phil Ralston took some good-natured shots at senior Bennett Fuzak for his postgame shoe selection Monday night.

But this was good grief because Ralston had no issues with the 6-foot-7 Fuzak's shot selection as the Vikings opened the boys basketball season in the Crystal Lake Central Thanksgiving Tournament at Prairie Ridge. Fuzak was on target with 77 percent of his shots and scored a career-high 27 points in a 48-28 victory over Huntley.

"I told myself before the game to let the game come to me and whatever happened, happened," Fuzak said after surpassing his previous varsity high of 23 points. "It happened to be my night as far as making shots.

"My teammates did a very good job of getting me the ball and getting me open on screens and I knocked down shots."

Fuzak started the game by missing 2 free throws but then made his final 10. He shot 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range even though he did not play the final 5:49 for last year's Class 4A fourth-place finisher.

Fuzak also scored 12 in Geneva's 21-point run that bridged the first and second quarters. But he finished the tear with 1 of his 3 assists to Zach Samples for a layup and a 21-2 lead.

"He was very efficient," Ralston said, "and he did it inside and out, which we need him to do."

The closest Huntley could get after the early outburst was 24-11 on a 3-pointer by 6-4 junior Olalere Oladipo (15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, 8 rebounds).

"We got some answers tonight and we got a little better in certain spots," said Huntley coach Will Benson. "It's a starting point and we have to build off of it."

Especially since it is tough to simulate the length Geneva brings in its 2-2-1 three-quarter court pressure. Fuzak, 6-7 Jordan Vedder, 6-5 Cole and Dom Navigato and Drew Klaus and 6-3 Matthew Johnston helped limit the Red Raiders to 24.3 percent shooting from the field (9-for-37) and 1-for-10 on 3s.

"I thought we utilized our press very well and controlled the tempo of the game," Ralston said.

"We did an OK job of not turning the ball over against it," Benson said after his team had only 10 giveaways. "But I don't think we did a good job of taking advantage of what we had in transition."

Johnston added 7 points and 6 rebounds and Vedder and Brandon Schleicher scored 4 points apiece for the Vikings, who play Belvidere North at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and Prairie Ridge at 5:30 p.m. Friday in pool play. Prairie Ridge beat Belvidere North 56-20 on Monday.

"I thought we did a good job of running our offense at the beginning of the game and toward the end," Fuzak said. "We worked well together and we were patient offensively and took a lot of high-percentage shots."