Geneva's Navigato delivers again
On a night filled with its share of end-to-end madness, Geneva's Nate Navigato was his usual calm, collected self.
Navigato finished the fourth quarter the same way he started it — by putting 3 points on the board to help lift Geneva (29-3) to a thrilling 65-62 Class 4A sectional championship triumph over highly touted Rockford Auburn (29-2) before a sellout crowd at DeKalb High School Friday night.
With the Vikings trailing 46-42 after 3 quarters, the 6-foot-7 senior forward canned a coldblooded 3-pointer from the corner just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to 46-45.
“That 3 he hit from the corner — 'Oh, my gosh,'” said Vikings coach Phil Ralston. “I knew when he hit that 3, that was it. It was time for us to take over.”
Navigato's fourth 3-pointer of the game ignited a 14-2 run that enabled the Vikings to take a 55-48 lead following Loudon Vollbrecht's 3-point play with 5:19 remaining.
When Rockford Auburn's Antoine Pittman and Nylek Cobb drained back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 62-62 with 32 seconds left, the Vikings once again got the ball to their money player — barely.
A few steps shy of half-court and nearing a 10-second violation, Vollbrecht uncorked a picture-perfect pass to Navigato on the far baseline.
The University of Buffalo recruit caught the ball and beat Cobb to the basket for what turned out to be the game-winning 3-point play with 9.8 seconds remaining, providing the Vikings with their first sectional title in 52 years.
“Nate did what he was doing all game — trying to get open,” said Vollbrecht, the Vikings' behemoth 6-8 junior center. “He faked left and went right. I threw it to him. I was praying it was going to get there and of course Nate made it happen.”
“It was a tough pass to throw and a tough pass to catch,” admitted Navigato, who scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Like a distance runner using a late kick to the finish line, Navigato seemingly has a knack for making big plays down the stretch.
In the regional semifinals against DeKalb, he scored 17 second-half points.
During the Vikings' 73-70 regional title win over St. Charles East, he poured in 13 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter.
On Wednesday night, he had 10 of his team's 26 fourth-quarter points as the Vikings rallied past Rockford Jefferson in the sectional semifinals.
It was all simply a prelude to Friday's pressure-packed heroics.
“It's fantastic to have someone like that on your team who you know you can give it to and he'll pull through for you,” Vollbrecht said of Navigato.
“We keep our composure,” said Navigato. “That's who we are. That's who I am.”
“It's not like our guys sweat when the game gets tight,” said Ralston, who collected his 250th career victory in memorable fashion. “Our kids thrive on that kind of pressure.”