Batavia beats Wheaton North in overtime
Batavia aced chemistry even during winter break.
The Bulldogs boys basketball team earned its top finish at York's Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, capturing third place by defeating Wheaton North 62-60 in overtime Saturday in Elmhurst. Twice the Bulldogs had reached the consolation final.
"It means a lot to the team, obviously, getting as far as we did," said Batavia point guard Riley Cooper, noting it also took overtime to beat Wheaton North in football on the way to Batavia's Class 7A title with Cooper at quarterback.
"Beating a team like Naperville North (on Thursday) who was ranked as high as they were (Daily Herald No. 1) was a great team win," he said. "Just team bonding, our team chemistry really grew throughout this tournament. I think we played well as a team and we just really got better and better as the tournament went on."
"It's a big thing with trust," added Batavia 20-point scorer Eric Peterson.
Two free throws by Wheaton North's Deng Reng tied the score at 57-57 with 52.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Neither team ran its final play to fruition, Wheaton North's Drew Arbogast taking an offensive charge and Batavia's Blake Carlson stealing the ball to thwart the Falcons.
Wheaton North (6-7), led by 6-foot-7 senior Josh Sorenson's 27 points, rallied from two 7-point fourth-quarter deficits to force overtime. Brayden Anthony scored 8 of his 11 points in the quarter.
"They did a good job putting pressure on us and forcing us to play fast when we were up a few points," said Peterson, a 6-5 senior. "But I'm very proud of how we stayed composed and finished that game how we knew we could."
In overtime Batavia (11-3) broke the ice on Cooper's two free throws at 1:49. Zack Weber's steal got the ball right back, and Cooper made a shot for a 61-57 lead. Cooper scored 12 points with sophomore Jayden Johnson scoring 16 including three 3-pointers.
Arbogast sank a 3 to pull the Falcons within 1 but Wheaton North didn't score again. Batavia's Andrew Heinz hit a foul shot with 19.8 seconds left and after Wheaton North took a timeout with seven seconds left it narrowly missed on a drive and putback try.
"The second half we did a better job of being stronger, we were able to get the ball inside a little bit more," said Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann. "I was proud of our effort, but down the stretch it was such a closely contested game it was going to be up to whoever made one final play."
Sorenson, who fouled out with 52.5 seconds left in regulation, went 8 of 9 from the floor and 10 of 10 from the foul line. He scored 14 points by halftime, when Batavia led 28-23.
"I just came out ready to play," Sorenson said. "Coach just told me before, attack and go as hard as you can. That's what I did. Sometimes they fall, yesterday they didn't fall. Today I just promised myself I'd come out and go hard."
Coming off losses on Friday, both teams did.
"I'm happy with what our group did," said Falcons 6-7 junior Reng, who scored 8 points with 6 rebounds.
"We had a very good summer so I think everybody had high hopes," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos. "And I think once we got everybody back and settled in, I think we're kind of getting to that point here right now."