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Batavia wins 3rd straight at York

Playing a game on New Year's Eve was one of the goals that Batavia's basketball team had coming into the 41st annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York High School.

The Bulldogs (9-5) will get their wish after Tuesday night's 58-45 victory over Sandburg (5-7) in the consolation semifinals.

Batavia, which opened the tournament with a double-digit loss to Oswego last Friday, followed up tight victories over Stagg and Downers Grove South with a solid effort against Sandburg.

"I thought we did a lot of things well today that we necessarily haven't done all tournament even though we got some wins," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos. "I thought we had our best shot recognition on offense as far as taking what was open and not forcing things."

The Bulldogs led from start to finish, scoring the game's first 6 points - 4 of which came on inside baskets from 6-7 senior center Chasen Peez.

"If he gets off to a good start, then he gets rolling and he gets confidence," junior guard Canaan Coffey said of Peez. "He can draw some fouls on their big men - get them out of the game and keep him in the game."

After the Eagles pulled within 12-10 on a late 3-pointer from Peter Paxinos (11 points), the Bulldogs got a buzzer-beating putback from 5-9 junior guard Kamontez Thomas to extend their lead to 14-10.

The play epitomized the type of game it would be for the Bulldogs.

"We did the little things today," said Nazos. "We got loose balls and offensive boards."

The Bulldogs continued to execute offensively in the second quarter against the Eagles' 2-3 zone defense, as Peez tallied 6 of his 15 points.

"We weren't totally expecting them to play zone," said Coffey. "We were expecting man (defense) most of the time but when they did go zone we executed perfectly."

Coffey, who poured in a game-high 24 points with 5 steals, grabbed an offensive rebound and nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to stretch the Bulldogs' lead to 29-19 early in the third quarter.

However, Sandburg responded with a pair of 3-pointers of its own, the latter coming from Paxinos to trim the deficit to 36-31 after 3 quarters.

A driving layup by Zak Razik on the Eagles' first possession of the fourth quarter narrowed the margin to 36-33 before the Bulldogs went on a 13-3 surge to put the game away.

The run included a step-back 3-pointer from Peez and a pair of long-distance 3s from Coffey, who finished with five 3-pointers.

"My teammates were finding me," said Coffey. "We were just moving the ball well and I was getting open looks. After I hit one or two, I got my confidence going and I just kept shooting."

Jacob Roberts contributed with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while Thomas added 5 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

"They do a lot of things right that aren't in the (score) book," Nazos said of Roberts and Thomas. "It was a great team win."

Danny Pieczynski also had 6 points for the Bulldogs, who will try to capture the consolation title today against Conant.

"We get a bonus game against a great team," said Nazos. "Of the 32 teams (in the tournament), only 6 are playing tomorrow. It's an accomplishment."

"We're pumped about it," said Coffey. "To come out of here with one loss would be awesome."

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