Geneva rolls Glenbard North for 20th win
The Geneva boys basketball team didn't get a police escort or a cheering crowd waiting in the gymnasium lobby after notching its 20th win of the season Saturday night.
That was reserved for the Geneva dance team, which was coming home from competition with its second state title in hand - on a school bus with the flashing lights of a police car leading the way.
But the basketball team also deserved its kudos after Nate Navigato's 31 points, on 8 of 10 shooting from the 3-point stripe, helped the Vikings smash Glenbard North 71-38 in a DuPage Valley/Upstate Eight Challenge game on Geneva's court.
"I told the kids that any time you have 20 wins in a season, you've had a heck of year, and this is especially nice because we have at least a month left," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said.
"I don't know where that puts us in historic terms as far as how quickly it has been done at Geneva, but it's my first team to ever do that (20 wins by end of January)," Ralston said.
It was a coast-to-coast victory for Geneva (20-2) after taking advantage of Glenbard North's ice-cold shooting to post an 11-0 lead to open the game. The Panthers missed their first nine shots and didn't get on the scoreboard until the 1:12 mark of the opening quarter when Mark Krzeminski hit a short jumper.
But Navigato was giving an indication of what was to come, scoring 10 first-quarter points. Before long, Geneva's height and length in a smothering 2-3 and trapping zone defense made life difficult for the Panthers.
When Pace Temple went the length of the floor after a steal for a layup at the buzzer and a 17-5 lead, it marked the first of three straight quarters in which Geneva would hit a buzzer beater.
Daniel Santacaterina's offensive rebound at the halftime buzzer gave the Vikings a 29-17 lead, and Navigato's trey at the end of the third quarter was good for a 53-27 lead.
When Glenbard North (3-14) missed a wide-open layup after a steal that could have trimmed the Geneva lead to inside of 10 points early in the third quarter, the Vikings took off to build a 46-26 lead.
Navigato splashed in four treys and Temple sank one during the explosion.
"We've had an incredible season so far, but the playoffs are right around the corner and we have to keep playing like this," Navigato said.
"My teammates did a great job of getting me open and I had a lot of easy looks," Navigato said. "I was actually hitting my threes today, which was a big help."
Geneva's reserves took up the fight in the fourth quarter, with 6-6 junior guard Jordan Vedder accounting well for himself with 8 points, including drawing a foul after a baseline drive in which he fully intended to dunk the ball.
"I thought we came out a little flat early, but Glenbard North was fighting hard and frustrated us with their 1-2-1 zone, but our kids made a run at them and opened it up," Ralston said.
Glenbard North coach Joe Larson wasn't happy with his team's effort, as the team left the gymnasium quickly after exiting the locker room.
Nick Lavere led the Panthers with 13 points, 9 of those coming on 3-pointers. Myles Moore added 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.
Other than Navigato, no other Viking scored in double figures. Navigato's team-high 8 rebounds helped Geneva compile a 34-21 edge on the boards.
"One area that we really have improved in is our rebounding, we are really thumping and blocking out," Ralston said.
Geneva now prepares for an Upstate Eight River showdown Thursday night against St. Charles East, the conference division's first-place team. Geneva trails St. Charles East by a half-game in the standings.