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Coffey's shot lifts Batavia over Lake Zurich in OT

There was little question who was getting the ball for Batavia's boys basketball team with the clock winding down and the Night of Hoops game against Lake Zurich tied in overtime.

Batavia leading scorer Canaan Coffey took a pass from Kamontez Thomas on the right wing with 8 seconds left. The 6-foot-3 senior guard made a spin move to the baseline and launched a 15-foot fadeaway jump shot that found nothing but net to lift the Bulldogs to a 66-64 victory over the comeback-minded Bears, who once trailed by 16.

"I was just going to go one-on-one and take the final shot there," said Coffey, who finished with a team-high 21 points. "I made a quick move and knocked down the shot."

Batavia coach Jim Nazos said the idea was to give Coffey space to create because Lake Zurich (16-6) had been denying the wing most of the game. He credited sophomore Eric Peterson for chipping Coffey's defender to create space.

"It got Canaan on the wing by himself," said Nazos, whose Upstate Eight River-leading Bulldogs improved to 17-7. "You really like your chances with Canaan on the wing and the clock counting down, him just going one on one. He made a play and he's the type of guy who's made those plays."

Coffey's heroics spoiled a memorable comeback by the Bears, who fell behind 36-20 late in the second quarter and trailed by 14 at the half. Senior guard Nick Penny kept Lake Zurich in the game by sinking 21 of 23 free throws en route to a career-best 32-points, spearheading a 30-of-35 performance by the Bears from the free throw line.

Trailing 60-58, Lake Zurich sophomore Ryan Kutsor scored on a baseline drive with 4 seconds left to knot the score. Coffey had a shot to win it in regulation, but his 3-pointer didn't fall.

The Bulldogs scored the first 4 points in overtime on free throws by Coffey and senior John Fitch, who grabbed 2 important overtime rebounds.

The Bears caught up via 2 free throws from Penny and 2 free throws from senior Nick Meyer, setting the stage for Coffey's game-ending heroics.

"We probably wanted to send a double at him," Penny said of the decisive play. "That's what coach wanted us to do. We just didn't execute once again. (Coffey) is a really great shooter, obviously. He was able to create space on me and hit it right over me."

Junior Michael Bens finished with 11 points for Lake Zurich, while Kutsor added 10.

Peterson scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half for Batavia, and Fitch added 9 points and 9 rebounds.

Benet 78, West Aurora 72: The proud boys basketball programs from West Aurora and Benet Academy met Saturday for the first time since colliding in the Class 4A Bolingbrook sectional final in 2013, but the afternoon game at Batavia's Jim and Sylvia Roberts Night of Hoops took on an entirely different complexion than the last clash.

Benet came away with a 78-72 victory in a game fraught with defensive lapses, whereas West Aurora prevailed 42-38 three years ago in a game characterized by stingy defense.

The Redwings (19-3) blitzed the Blackhawks (6-14) with 43 first-half points, powered by 9-of-13 shooting from 3-point range. Senior James Dockery and juniors Jack Nolan and Liam Lyman each netted a pair from long range before intermission.

West Aurora's young lineup, less than 24 hours removed from a stirring victory over rival East Aurora, refused to give into the Daily Herald's No. 2-ranked team.

The Blackhawks used pressure defense to spark their transition game, and they benefitted from hard-earned inside buckets from sophomore Camron Donatlan and juniors Davion Cross and DaQuan Cross. West Aurora outscored the Redwings 21-12 in the third quarter to cut its halftime deficit from 18 points to 9.

The Blackhawks then opened the fourth quarter on a 10-4 run that featured a pair of Donatlan buckets, highlighted by a breakaway dunk off a steal. DaQuan Cross' shot from the lane sliced Benet's lead to 59-56 midway through the final period.

"They played really hard, they pressured the ball well and they forced us into some turnovers that they scored off," Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. "They did a really good job of attacking us off the dribble. I think they gained more and more confidence as the half wore on and they played really, really well."

West Aurora would pull no closer, however. Nolan drilled his fourth 3-pointer to restore the Benet lead to 6 and senior Jason Malonga's conventional three-point play upped the lead to 9.

"It was a good second half," West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. "Unfortunately, the first half was slow. We just didn't play hard enough on the defensive end of the floor. We had to pressure a little bit more and I thought once we amped up the pressure, we caused some issues for them. But we can't be a one-half team."

The Redwings sank 12 of 16 free throws in the final three minutes to remain in the lead. Senior James Dockery made 4 of those free throws to finish with a game-high 22 points. He was more concerned afterward with how many points the Redwings allowed rather than how many they scored.

Donatlan led the Blackhawks with 22 points and 9 rebounds, junior Caleb Siler scored 16 points and Davion Cross and Daquan Cross each contributed 10 points.

- Jerry Fitzpatrick

Senior Dan Sobolewski finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds, Nolan added 15 points and Malonga had 8 for Benet.

- Jerry Fitzpatrick

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