advertisement

Geneva tops St. Charles East, takes River lead

Pace Temple said he never was worried Thursday night while St. Charles East was in the process of slicing Geneva's 25-point fourth-quarter lead to 4, but he probably was the exception at the Vikings' nearly packed Contest Gym.

What once had been a 53-28 Geneva blowout in the battle for first place in the Upstate Eight Eight Conference River Division had shrunk all the way to 65-61 with two minutes still remaining.

The Saints came up with yet another steal - they had 12 in the game while forcing 24 Geneva turnovers - and found Cole Gentry at the 3-point line where the senior point guard had already made 3 in the fourth quarter.

But before Gentry's shot could get on its way to the rim, Geneva's Sean Chambers hustled back into the play to block it.

Nate Navigato was fouled and sank a pair of free throws, and Chambers followed with two more moments later. The wind finally seemed to leave the Saints' sails of what had been a furious 33-12 charge over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.

With its 75-63 victory, Geneva (21-2, 9-1) moved into first place over St. Charles East (18-3, 9-2).

"Cole was on fire. He was keeping them in the game," said Temple, who missed the teams' first meeting and was one of four Vikings in double figures Thursday with 11 points.

"Sean made a great play hustling back. That was a pivotal moment because the way he (Gentry) was shooting that was probably going in. That was a huge play."

Gentry scored 9 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to key the comeback, along with backcourt mate Evan DiLeonardi who tallied 13 of his 17. Both guards had 4 steals.

"I thought Cole got fouled on that 3 and they called a foul on us and a 4-point game goes to a 6-pont game," Saints coach Patrick Woods said. "We were right there despite how poorly we played the first three quarters."

For three quarters the story was all Geneva. Loudon Vollbrecht got the Vikings going with an inside basket on a feed from Temple. Navigato connected, then Vollbrecht found a cutting Daniel Santacaterina as the Vikings started an efficient night offensively.

The Saints, meanwhile, couldn't get anything to drop. They misfired on their first 11 field goal attempts until DiLeonardi's reverse layup with a minute remaining in the opening quarter.

Navigato sank a 3-pointer and 2 free throws in the final minute of the quarter to give Geneva a 15-6 lead. Bennett Fuzak opened the second quarter with three straight 3s and the rout was on.

"Those 3s were huge," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "That opened things up for us. It was kind of tightening up, swinging back their way. That flurry right there was huge."

Geneva extended the margin to 38-17 at halftime. Temple scored on a drive, then took a kick-out from Michael Landi and hit a 3. Vollbrecht scored again before Navigato's 3 capped the half.

"We were playing great," Temple said. "Both of us play different styles and it was trying to break through and play our own style. We were able to slow down and handle the pressure."

As good as Geneva played on the offensive end making 6 of 8 three-point attempts and all 6 free throws, the Vikings were just as impressive holding a St. Charles East team that had just scored 82 points in the same gym Saturday to 17.

St. Charles East made just 4 of 24 shots in the first half and was still at just 22.2 percent through three quarters before its 35-point fourth quarter put them at 32 percent (18 of 56) for the game.

"I thought by and large our kids played a whale of a game," Ralston said. "Trying to keep Cole Gentry in front of you is not an easy task but I thought our guys did a great job of cutting off driving lanes and even when he got driving lanes we did a good job of collapsing on him and forcing him to kick out to guys who were already covered. Loudon did a tremendous job of staying down and being our rim protector tonight."

Geneva's shooting was the opposite, hitting 68.4 percent for the game (26 of 38). The Vikings also outrebounded the Saints again, this time 34-18.

Only the Saints' plus-15 turnover advantage allowed them to get back into the game. That and their 3-point shots finally fell in the fourth when they made 7 of 8 in one stretch after going 2 for 20 in the first three quarters.

"We got a little squirrely," Temple said. "Started throwing it around and made it a little interesting. But in the end we pulled out a 'W' and that's all that matters.

"A team like East you know they are going to go on a run. You hope it's not a run like they had. I was just trying to relax and keep everyone calm. Credit to them (East). They showed a lot of heart."

Navigato led Geneva with 22 points, making 10 of his 12 free throws as the Vikings hit 16 of 22. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Temple, Vollbrecht and Fuzak all scored 11.

At halftime Woods challenged his team to play with more intensity. They did, and they learned some things they hope can make the difference if there's a third meeting with Geneva back on this same court in a regional championship game.

"I thought we came out a little tight," Woods said. "We've had a lot of wins by a lot of points so we haven't been in tight games enough. I thought that showed a little bit tonight. I'm really glad we had this experience. I think we'll take a lot from this. We battled back and showed we have a lot of heart and a lot of fight in us."

Mick Vyzral finished as the third Saint in double figures with 10 points while Jake Asquini added 9 including a pair of 3-point baskets during the comeback.

Games remaining with Larkin and St. Charles North figure to be the toughest hurdles between Geneva and an outright River title.

"It's kind of our destiny now but we've got to take care of business," Ralston said. "There's nothing decided here."

  Geneva's Michael Landi attempts to block a shot by St. Charles East's Cole Gentry in the third quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Mick Vyzral is blocked in by Geneva's Nate Navigato in the third quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Nate Navigato attempts to shoot through a block on both sides by St. Charles East's Jake Clodi (22) and Mick Vyzral (back in the fourth quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Loudon Vollbrecht shoots past St. Charles East's Cole Gentry in the fourth quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Stephen Moyer (32), Chandler Fuzak (5) and Bennett Fuzak (23) leap from the bench as the Vikings are fouled by the Saints late in the fourth quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Bennett Fuzak (23) and Daniel Santacaterina (0) leap to their feet as Geneva fights for the ball against St. Charles East in the fourth quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Daniel Santacaterina (facing) hugs teammate Pace Temple as they celebrate their win over St. Charles East Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Sean Chambers shoots past an attempted block by St. Charles East's Mick Vyzral in the second quarter Thursday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.