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Navigato's 31 lifts Geneva over St. Charles East

Nate Navigato hasn't had many first halves as quiet as his first one Friday in the Class 4A Geneva regional championship game.

The Geneva star has had plenty of big halves like his second, though perhaps none ever finer and certainly none in a bigger moment.

Navigato scored 27 of his 31 points in the second half, leading Geneva to a thrilling 73-70 victory over St. Charles East in front of a standing-room-only crowd that included people packed into the track above the court.

The Vikings led by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter but weren't able to celebrate with that overflow crowd until Mick Vyzral's 35-footer rimmed off at the buzzer.

"The atmosphere was insane," Navigato said. "It was incredible. It was so loud. We had to stay together as a team and we pulled out the 'W.'

"I just knew I had to be aggressive (in the second half). I came in attack mode."

Geneva (27-3) advances to the Class 4A DeKalb sectional Wednesday night against Rockford Jefferson.

Navigato hit his final 8 attempts from the field including all 3 of his 3-point attempts after Evan DiLeonardi hounded him in the first half.

Many of Navigato's looks in the second half came in transition after the Vikings beat the Saints' press.

"The best players come in the second half and shut it down," Geneva senior Pace Temple said. "That's what he did. Phenomenal game. He let the game come to him. Some kids get frustrated, but not him. He won us that game."

St. Charles East (24-4) ends its season with the second most wins in school history but without the postseason run it desperately wanted.

In some ways it was amazing the Saints came as close as they did Friday. Geneva shot 67 percent from the field (26 for 39), 14 for 17 in the second half; the normally 3-point swishing Saints made just 3 of their 20 attempts.

Geneva again won the battle of the boards 28-19 yet the Saints had a chance at the end thanks to forcing 20 turnovers and getting typically gutty performances from Cole Gentry with 23 points, DiLeonardi 15, Jack Bronec 13 and Vyzral 12.

"We were applying pressure and they hit shots," Gentry said. "You have to pick your poison. We battled back and we were one shot short. I thought 'Vyz' was going to make the shot. It says something about our character. We never gave up."

The Saints took a 26-25 halftime lead after an odd first half that saw them get into the bonus in the first quarter. They made 10 of 14 free throws in the half while Geneva didn't get to the line.

St. Charles East took its biggest lead at 34-28 in the third quarter on 4 straight points from Bronec and a Gentry floater. Temple, who scored 9 points in the first quarter, drove for a 3-point play to halt the Saints' momentum.

The Vikings then surged behind Navigato, who had 14 of Geneva's points in a 23-6 run to end the third quarter up 51-40. After a wild stretch when the teams traded the lead 5 times in less than two minutes, Temple dished one of his 6 assists to Stephen Moyer to put Geneva up for good, 41-40.

That also started a 12-0 flurry that included Navigato's layup, a Navigato 3-point play, Navigato's 3 after Michael Landi rebounded his own missed 3, and a Landi basket.

Navigato's 3 to open the fourth gave the Vikings heir biggest lead at 54-41.

"He still kept at it and made big baskets," Saints coach Patrick Woods said of the University of Buffalo recruit. "He's just a heck of a player and makes big plays when needed. That's just the kind of player he is."

The Saints kept chipping away from there, scoring 30 points in a frantic fourth quarter. Among the keys in the comeback were repeated drives from Gentry and DiLeonardi who combined for 19 points in the quarter. Jeremy Champine came off the bench to help pressure.

St. Charles East pulled within 66-63 with 2 minutes left but missed inside with a chance to get closer. Geneva stretched the lead back to 71-65 with :45 remaining but the Saints again rallied, a pair of Gentry scores and a rare 2-of-4 shooting at the line from Navigato giving the Saints the ball down 73-70 at :4.3.

Vyzral caught a long inbounds pass, dribbled past half court and let fly, his shot hitting the left side of the rim.

"I don't know 4.3 seconds we were going to be able to get much better look than we did. For a second I thought it was going in," Woods said. "They proved tonight they are better than us. They beat us two out of three. We're disappointed, (but) we had a great group of kids."

Temple and Landi also scored in double figures for Geneva with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Landi grabbed 6 rebounds in his return after missing the regional opener.

"I'm not going to go into that (of why Landi missed Tuesday). I'll just say Mike did a nice job stepping up," said Geneva coach Phil Ralston, who credited his assistant Scott Hennig for the scouting report on the matchup.

"This lived up to the billing. I give Coach Woods and his team a tremendous amount of credit. They are one tough, tough team."

  Geneva's Pace Temple hoists the Vikings' Class 4A regional championship plaque into the air after their win over St. Charles East Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Loudon Vollbrecht shoots over a block by St. Charles East's Jack Bronec in the third quarter of the Class 4A championship regional game Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Mick Vyzral, left, and teammates leave the court after their Class 4A regional championship loss to Geneva Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Jeremy Champine hangs his head in sadness as the clock ticks down in the fourth quarter of the Class 4A championship regional game with Geneva in the lead Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Jack Bronec, left, and Geneva's Bennett Fuzak get tangled up as Fuzak's shot is denied in the third quarter of the Class 4A championship regional game Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Loudon Vollbrecht (facing) and Daniel Santacaterina (0) embrace as they celebrate their Class 4A regional championship win over St. Charles East Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Sean Chambers shoots over a block by St. Charles East's Jack Bronec in the third quarter of the Class 4A championship regional game Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Nate Navigato shoots over a block by St. Charles East's Evan DiLeonardi in the third quarter of the Class 4A championship regional game Friday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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