Batavia loses at the buzzer
Trying to complete a fourth-quarter comeback for the second day in a row, and trying to claim a consolation championship for the second year in a row, Batavia instead came up one shot short Thursday at the 36th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament.
Batavia played from behind the entire fourth quarter and nearly caught Glenbrook South at the end, only to see Mike Jorgensen's 18-foot jumper misfire at the buzzer of a 78-76 loss.
Glenbrook South (7-7) claimed the consolation championship that Batavia (7-6) won last year. The Titans did it by dominating at the free-throw line, hitting 27 of 38 to Batavia's 10 of 15.
“They kept nursing a lead and we had to go after them,” Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. “We did a bad job of moving our feet out on the perimeter and in the interior. We needed a couple more defensive stops.”
Batavia couldn't have started better. Cole Gardner scored the Bulldogs' first six points, and when he drove the baseline and powered in a basket moments later, Batavia held a 14-4 lead and Glenbrook South burned its second timeout.
Gardner, though, wouldn't score again. He picked up his second foul late in the first quarter and was back in foul trouble the rest of the way, fouling out with 5:52 left in the game.
“We've got to keep working on moving our feet,” Roberts said.
The Bulldogs held the lead almost the entire second quarter thanks to a myriad of contributions. Jesse Coffey hit a step-back 3-pointer on one trip, then a pull-up jumper the next time. Mike Rueffer made a nice feed inside to Brady Strittmatter who converted and was fouled for a 3-point play. Zach Strittmatter drove hard along the baseline and scored for a 34-27 lead, Batavia's biggest.
The Bulldogs didn't close the quarter well, and Corey McMahon's 3-pointer — the only one of the game for the Titans — at the second quarter buzzer tied the score at 36 at halftime.
After Glenbrook South inched ahead 54-50 after three quarters, Zach Strittmatter and Vaughn scored to tie the game a final time at 54 with 6:47 remaining.
Glenbrook South scored 24 points the rest of the way, 14 at the free-throw line and most of the others on drives through the Batavia defense. Jeff Ryan did most of the damage, scoring 16 points in the quarter to finish with a game-high 27.
“Especially in my case I didn't play really smart,” Elliott Vaughn said. “I let him (Ryan) keep going to his right hand. And in an attempt to make a spectacular play I tried to hack at it or swat it and it ended up he kept going to the free-throw line. I didn't move my feet well.”
Batavia fought to stay close. Trailing 65-59, Vaughn made a strong move and scored with his left hand and Brady Strittmatter followed with a stickback. After a Ryan drive, Coffey's 3-pointer brought the Bulldogs within 67-66.
Glenbrook South pushed its lead back to 73-68 only to watch Rueffer make his first two baskets of the game — both 3-pointers — that brought Batavia within 75-74 with 19 seconds left.
After two more Ryan free throws with 8 seconds to go, Glenbrook South fouled and didn't let Batavia get off a 3-pointer. Jorgensen made both free throws to again bring Batavia within 77-76.
The Titans finally split free throws with 4 seconds to go giving Batavia a chance to win or tie. The Bulldogs tried to free Coffey but couldn't get him the ball. Jorgensen dribbled up court, and his shot hit off the rim as time expired.
“He had a good look, a good shot, it just didn't drop,” Roberts said. “I was proud of the way our kids managed the clock down the stretch. I felt we gave ourselves a chance to win or tie.”
Coffey capped an outstanding tournament with 23 points. He hit four 3-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws after scoring 16, 12 and 25 points in the previous three games. Each game he led Batavia in scoring.
Vaughn stayed on the court despite foul trouble and finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds while Zach Strittmatter added 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Brady Strittmatter helped make up for Gardner's foul trouble with 7 points and 4 rebounds.
“Brady moved well without the ball and fought the glass hard,” Roberts said.