Wheaton Warrenville South edges Batavia for crown
Batavia's quest for two titles in one day was thwarted Saturday night.
Although the Bulldogs' basketball team's attempt to capture its own Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic tournament title for the first time since 2014 came to an end following a 51-49 loss to Wheaton Warrenville South (4-0), the football team deservedly was at the center of the attention.
"It has been a crazy day but these are the type of days that you're happy that it's crazy," said Batavia athletic director Dave Andrews prior to the basketball game.
With several players hoisting the championship trophy, the Bulldogs' football team entered the gym to a tremendous roar while members of the basketball team lined their entrance during halftime of the basketball game.
"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the 2017 Class 7A state champions, your Battlin' Bulldogs," said longtime Batavia public address announcer Rudy Dubis as the football team walked to center court with the title trophy.
"We wanted to pick a good time at some point during a timeout in play," said Andrews. "We didn't want to wait too long because the parents want to take their kids and celebrate with them. They've worked hard for this and it's awesome that it came to this."
As for the basketball game, the Tigers jumped out to a 16-0 lead, holding the Bulldogs scoreless throughout the entire opening quarter on the way to their third consecutive Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic crown.
"We did some good things," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "They (the Bulldogs) hit some big shots and we finally made some free throws there at the end when it counted.
"It's nice to get a trophy."
Senior guard Jake Healy, who earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player award, scored a game-high 17 points for the Tigers while teammates Chase Stebbins and Matt Brodhead added 13 and 8 points, respectively.
The Tigers had to withstand a furious second-half charge from the Bulldogs, who trimmed an 8-point deficit to 2 at 49-47 on a 3-point basket by Blake Carlson (17 points, 7 rebounds) with 10 seconds remaining.
After Healy's layup off a baseball-type inbounds pass from Stebbins extended the Tigers' lead to 51-47 with 8 seconds left, Batavia's Kyle LeFever (12 points) got fouled on his 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining.
LeFever made the first 2 foul shots before purposely misfiring on his third attempt, as the Tigers' Zach Harris secured the rebound and tourney title.
"It was good for our kids to be in this type of environment," said the Tigers coach. "We wanted that."
Sophomore Jayden Johnson added 12 points for the Bulldogs, who figure to welcome several football players to the basketball team next week.
"These 10 guys have fought hard - they've had a good week," said Bulldogs coach Jim Nazos. "We kept going. We kept coming back. I'm happy with how we competed here tonight."