Batavia snaps 6-game losing streak

After a sluggish first quarter, Batavia was able to wake up and start hitting shots from all over the court to dominate FW Parker Monday night and cruise to a 69-37 win inside Chesbrough Field House at the 39th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament Monday night.

Jumping out a 17-point lead at the half, the Bulldogs (3-7, 0-3) hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 23 points in the period, effectively crushing any momentum Parker had after the first quarter, holding the Colonels to 10 points.

The third was just as friendly to the Bulldogs, as they were able to put up 22 points while their defense stood strong and limited Parker to just 11 in the third.

“I thought we were better (after the first) defensively and it helped free open some stuff for us offensively,” said Batavia coach Jim Nazos, whose team snapped a 6-game losing streak. “I thought we did a good job in finding the open guy on offense and it always helps when you got guys hitting their shots.”

One of those guys was the senior guard Micah Coffey, who finished the night with 16 points leading all scorers. But it was in the second quarter where he did the brunt of his damage, sinking 4 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater, while also going 2 of 2 from the line to finish with 14 in the quarter.

In the third it was his brother’s turn, Canaan, who finished with 12 points and had 9 in the third period thanks to 3 3-pointers.

Junior Chasen Peez also scored in the double digits for the Bulldogs finishing with 13 points after sitting out the fourth quarter entirely. Peez was able to make his presence known down low, getting 10 points in the paint and only missing one shot from inside the arc while also grabbing 7 rebounds.

“I think that we rebounded well,” Nozos said. “For the most part I think we did a good job hanging onto the ball as well.”

On the other side of the court, Parker (9-2) had trouble getting their offense in motion for most of the game. Zack Kupferberg led the Colonels with 11 points while also grabbing 5 rebounds. Kupferberg also got to the line eight times (hitting five of them) and got Peez into foul trouble early in the second.

Marc Taylor also started to come on strong for FW Parker in the fourth, but by then the game was well on its way to being decided.

“It’s a great win for a great team I think,” Nozos said. “We’ve been in a little bit of a rut lately so I think it’s a start for us.”