Tri-Cities boys basketball roundup

Geneva beat Rockton Hononegah by 16 points in second-day action at the Crystal Lake Central Thanksgiving Tournament, but despite the 52-36 margin Viking coach Phil Ralston thought Hononegah's game plan was sound.

"I put this down as really a nice, quality win," he said.

Geneva (2-0) burst to an 11-2 lead and maintained a double-digit gap throughout the first half and into the third. Hononegah (1-1) trimmed its deficit to 8 before the Vikings expanded their lead in the fourth quarter.

"They got some key rebounds, did a phenomenal job of blocking out," Ralston said of Hononegah, which on the football field recently lost to Geneva in a Class 7A second-round game.

Nate Navigato led balanced Geneva scoring with 17 points. Brothers Chandler and Bennett Fuzak scored 12 points apiece with Loudon Vollbrecht adding 8 points.

"They really keyed in on Nate, and while we still have room for improvement we were able to get him open for shots," Ralston said. "A lot of our shots were the good, high-quality shots we want to take."

Geneva has outscored Huntley and Hononegah by a combined score of 115-62. The Vikings continue tournament pool play at 5:30 p.m. Friday against Prairie Ridge. If successful, on Saturday they will play for a third straight Thanksgiving title. Geneva won at West Chicago the past two seasons.

"It's nice to go up against teams you don't normally see," Ralston said, "but at the same time you have always got to bring your 'A' game."