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Red-hot Batavia shoots past Marmion

Batavia didn't make every 3-point shot it attempted Saturday night against Marmion.

It only seemed that way to the Cadets.

Seven different Bulldogs connected from beyond the arc. Batavia knocked down 15 as a team, giving the Bulldogs more than enough firepower for a 68-48 nonconference win.

"We were just making the right play, getting it to open teammates," senior guard Devion Davis said. "We knocked down shots."

Davis was one of three Bulldogs who made three 3s. Blake Carlson and Jayden Johnson also hit a trio of them, and Colin Cheaney, Jordan Moore and Riley Cooper all sank two.

"It's nothing you foresee coming," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "I thought we found guys. Made an extra pass to a shooter. I thought it was a good game against a good team."

After a free throw by Mick Sullivan to start the game, Carlson erased the Cadets' only lead with a 3. Moore and Davis also made 3-pointers in the first quarter, staking Batavia to an 11-8 lead.

Marmion (0-7) stayed within 22-20 midway through the second quarter with a 3-pointer of its own by sophomore Tommy Surges.

Nazos called timeout, and Batavia ended the half outscoring the Cadets 13-4, part of a larger 23-4 run that ended with the Bulldogs breaking the game open up 43-24 with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Again it was the 3-point shot that keyed the surge, starting with one from Cooper immediately followed by another from Johnson.

"We weren't playing really well at the time," Nazos said. "They were getting to the line a lot. We kind of needed to take a breath I think. We needed to settle ourselves down a little. I thought there were guys off our bench that gave us a huge lift and did a lot of good things."

Only two players reached double figures in the game, Davis with 12 and Johnson's 11. After a string of tough losses losing fourth-quarter leads, Batavia (4-4) got back on track with a 2-0 weekend heading into a matchup against undefeated Geneva next Friday.

"I thought we had a good week of practice," Nazos said. "I thought we finished both these games here. I thought we took care of the ball better. It's a start."

For Marmion, Batavia's hot shooting was all too familiar. Montini made 11 of 22 from 3-point range against them Friday night.

Sullivan, Evan Pugh and Sam Doroff all scored 8 points to lead the Cadets.

"Credit to them," Marmion coach Joe Currie said of Batavia. "They were very patient in their offense and passed up some opportunities to get the shot they definitely wanted to have. We did the best we could trying to keep up with the 3s.

"It's a long season and we just have to keep plugging away."

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