Geneva bounces back, beats Bartlett
Geneva and Bartlett's Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball crossover Tuesday came down to shot selection.
For the most part the Vikings got the ones they wanted and also got to the free-throw line often, while Bartlett launched a few too many 3s for coach Jim Wolfsmith's liking.
The result was a 33-16 edge in free throws for Geneva and just 23 percent shooting from the field (11 of 48) for Bartlett. The Vikings bounced back from Friday's loss to Streamwood with a 50-39 victory.
Geneva coach Phil Ralston called Matt Johnston the game's MVP for his work on Bartlett sharpshooter Robby Jimenez.
"Bartlett runs some really tough actions to guard," Ralston said. "They have a nice complement of players. We wanted to lock down Jimenez.
"Friday was a bitter pill to swallow. It's nothing against Streamwood. Our guys did not come ready to play and Streamwood made us pay. It was a good wake-up call."
Geneva (5-1), ranked 10th in the Daily Herald Top 20, outscored No. 15 Bartlett (4-2) 17-7 in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game.
The Hawks took their final lead of the night, 34-33, when Rashaun Hayes opened the fourth quarter by grabbing a long rebound and racing the other way for a layup.
Bartlett only made 1 more shot from the field and scored just 4 points over the final 7 minutes.
"We're one possession, two possessions away. All we have to do is play smart basketball and right now it's eluding us," Wolfsmith said. "It's a lot of shot selection. Decision making was poor this whole game. Instead of working our offense and making them chase us, we're jacking outside 3s and they are pounding the ball down low. We had a chance."
Geneva regained control on 4 straight free throws from Jordan Vedder and Cole Navigato. Bennett Fuzak and Vedder followed with baskets to cap an 8-0 run and give the Vikings a 41-34 lead.
Tyler Pauletti scored and Jimenez sank a pair of free throws after an intentional foul call on Geneva, bringing the Hawks within 41-38 with 3:10 left.
The Vikings nursed the lead to perfection, holding the ball until the Hawks had to foul. After struggling at 8 of 17 from the line in the first three quarters, Geneva made 13 of 16 free throws in the fourth to seal the win.
"Our shooting at the line left the door open," Ralston said. "We'll emphasize that at tomorrow's practice."
Vedder led Geneva with 16 points including three 3-pointers in the first half that saw the Vikings build a 26-22 lead.
"He's had ups, he's had downs, tonight I thought he had more ups than downs," Ralston said. "We told him every time he has his feet underneath him he's got to shoot the ball. I don't know if he wasn't on Bartlett's radar or what but they left him open an awful lot."
Vedder's biggest up - literally - came in the third quarter when the 6-foot-7 senior threw down a one-handed slam over a trailing defender in transition, bringing Geneva's bench to its feet.
"I saw my opportunity," said Vedder, who said he only made "one or two" of five dunk attempts on the JV team last year. "I was working in the off-season on my vertical. It worked out well. Tonight it went down. It felt pretty good."
Fuzak added 9 points and Brandon Schleicher 8. The Vikings outrebounded the Hawks 37-22 led by Fuzak's 7 and Johnston's 6.
Jimenez led Bartlett with 15 points and Pauletti totaled 11 points with 4 steals.