Batavia wins season opener

It was a moment of truth for Kyle LeFever Monday night in Batavia.

The 6-foot-5 Batavia guard had an opportunity for the first throw down of the boys basketball season for the Bulldogs.

But the senior was rejected by the rim.

It mattered little, however, for the senior as he had the presence of mind to tip in his own miss.

"Instincts went for the dunk," said LeFever, who scored 15 points in the Bulldogs' season-opening 70-40 win over Chicago Marine at the Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic. "It didn't happen. I followed up the shot."

Batavia never trailed as sophomore Jayden Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game in scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points in the opening quarter.

Chicago Marine (0-1) failed to reach to reach double digits in three of the fourth quarters.

"When they hit those early 3s, it deflated our confidence," said Marine post Chris Walter, who scored 19 points in defeat.

Batavia (1-0) erupted for 25 first-quarter points in grabbing a 17-point lead after eight minutes on their fellow namesake Bulldogs.

Six different players scored in all for Batavia in the opening quarter.

Batavia suited all of 10 players as even more potential options for coach Jim Nazos await a Class 7A state football championship game at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on Saturday against Lake Zurich.

"I would say anywhere from eight to 11 who see minutes," Nazos said of Batavia football players who transition to the hard court in the winter. "We try to develop 15 to 20 guys. You never know when it's going to be your turn."

Johnson was unstoppable for Batavia in staking the home team to a 43-17 halftime lead Monday night.

"Our game plan was to get on them right away," said Johnson.

But Marine visibly outplayed Batavia in the third quarter, scoring half of its points in the period.

"I just played hard," said Walter, instrumental in the Marine run. "I knew my team needed me."

"I think we let our guard down a little bit," Nazos said of the third quarter.

"We obviously know we weren't on our game in the third quarter," LeFever said.

But Batavia resumed its defensive intensity in the final quarter.

Jermaine Alfred hit a 3-pointer five-plus minutes into the final quarter for the only Marine points in the period.

"Our focus defensively is to help out," said Johnson.

Marco Yager and Clayton Deutsch had 9 and 8 points, respectively, for Batavia.