Geneva makes easy work of Antioch
The Antioch boys basketball team faced a tall order in more ways than one Saturday night when it traveled to Geneva for a nonconference game.
Not only were the Sequoits facing the undefeated Vikings, but they were down two starters. Antioch coach Jim White switched his defense from man-to-man to a zone.to force Geneva to shoot outside
Vikings head coach Phil Ralston also juggled his lineup with a change to the starting five and a different rotation.
The strategy worked for Antioch during the first quarter. Geneva was unable to connect from beyond the arc and led only 15-14 after the first 8 minutes.
But the Vikings adjusted to both changes to take their 24th victory of the season without a loss, 62-30.
"We are typically a man team but we're not very big. We are one of the smallest teams in Lake County and we are coming in short-handed," said White. "So we put in our 1-2-2. They certainly missed some shots early that they typically would make but we did a decent job of closing out and least being a presence."
"We had some guys who were a little beat up from (Friday) night's game against Larkin, so we tried to go with a different rotation. It allowed us to rest some guys," said Ralston. "The start didn't go the way we wanted but I thought we progressed throughout the game. We were getting the shots we wanted."
Geneva also clamped down on its defense giving up only 5 baskets for the remaining 3 quarters.
Antioch (7-13) took the lead briefly near the end of in the first quarter on a basket by sophomore Daniel Filippone (13 points).
Jack McDonald's third bucket of the first period, just before time expired, returned the lead to the Vikings. The sophomore guard finished the night with 12 points.
McDonald also opened Geneva's scoring in the second quarter with a 3-point basket from the right wing that ignited a 9-2 run.
The period ended on a second Matt Johnston (12 points) alley-oop dunk. McDonald fed the ball to Johnston for both. The Vikings led 33-21 at halftime.
"It's funny. We tried running that play numerous times," Ralston said about the dunks. "To be able to get it twice in one game - we are happy with that."
"Jack and I practice it a lot," Johnston said. "I just decided to call for them and he gave perfect passes."
Geneva broke the game open in the third quarter sinking the first 6 baskets of the quarter.
Johnston hit the first bucket, on a conventional shot followed by back-to-back treys by Mitch Mascari and Dom Navigato (17 points). Geneva increased its margin to 25 points, leading 51-26 at the end of the period.
Branden Gallimore scored 7 points for Antioch.