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WW South hangs on to beat Batavia

Dillon Durett showed no first-game jitters Monday night in Batavia.

The Wheaton Warrenville South senior followed back-to-back 3-pointers with an inside score off an offensive rebound for an 8-point personal run midway through the third quarter.

The last of 7 ties was history as a result as the Tigers opened their boys basketball season with a 59-52 win over Batavia at the Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic.

The WW South senior led all players with 22 points.

"Everybody was where they were supposed to be," Durett said of his personal run that gave WW South, the defending tournament champion, a 44-36 lead. "I just happened to be the person to take the shot. I have taken that shot a million times in practice."

One of the main storylines was the turnover ratio WW South (1-0) enjoyed.

The Tigers had zero turnovers by the time the Bulldogs (0-1) hit double digits in the first half.

WW South ended the game with 5 possession-enders.

"That's going to be an asset for us," WW South coach Mike Healy said of the Tigers' ball protection. "We have to play like that. We graduated 91 percent of our offense."

"We talked about the extra possessions," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "The turnovers came at key moments."

WW South is a disciplined unit that features multiple passes on offense.

"We are always looking for a good shot," said Jake Healy (17 points), who combined with his brother Drew for 27 points. "We will work the ball for two, two and a half minutes to get one."

The Tigers ran more than a minute off the clock to close out the second quarter as Jake Healy found Parker Robinson for a layup at the buzzer.

WW South led 32-27 at the intermission.

Despite committing a dozen more turnovers, Batavia remained resilient.

With its trademark perimeter attack accounting for six 3-pointers, the Bulldogs made it a one-possession game, 44-41, entering the final quarter.

But Jake Healy had a 3-pointer of his own to augment a pair of inside Durrett scores.

The closest Batavia would come in the fourth quarter was 56-52 on a Colin Cheaney 3-pointer.

WW South took its largest lead of the game moments before when a Drew Healy field goal made it 52-43.

Batavia, conversely, never led by more than by a point.

Cheaney led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

Eric Peterson added 13 for Batavia.

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