St. Charles North denies Batavia again

The Batavia boys basketball team has had its way against a lot of opponents this season with an average margin of victory of over 18 points in its 18 wins. However, in two tries now the Bulldogs have been unable to solve the St. Charles North defense.

For the second time this season on Friday night the host North Stars shut down Batavia's offense in a 48-40 Upstate Eight Conference River Division win. North (11-7, 4-2) also won the first meeting between the two teams 56-46 back in December.

Batavia, which saw its eight-game winning streak snapped, shot just 13 of 48 (27 percent) from the field, including 8 of 30 from the 3-point arc.

"Against their offense you have to come out focused on defense," North coach Tom Poulin said. "They usually get some great shots, but I thought we played a full game of tough man-to-man defense and kept them from where they wanted to get to on the floor. We were able to get out and contest their shots and force them out of their flow. Really proud of the way our guys played."

On the offensive end Cade Callaghan led the way with a team-high 16 points for the North Stars. The senior forward was very efficient, connecting on 5 of 6 shots from the field, including one 3-pointer, and he also made 5 of 6 free throw attempts.

"We have several guys who can score on our team," Callaghan said. "You never know who it's going to be. Last time we faced them it was Kyle (King) who had a big game. They were doing a lot to try and stop him. So it was my game to step and contribute."

King, who had 27 points in the first meeting between the two teams, was held to just 2 points in the first half. However, he did have a big third quarter as he scored 10 points to help the North Stars extend a 16-13 halftime lead to 34-22. He opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. King finished with 14 points.

"Cade and Kyle having been playing together a long time and really compliment each other," Poulin said. "Cade presents some matchup problems for teams and we run most of our plays through Kyle. If he doesn't have the shot he's going to make the right pass. They really both stepped up tonight and we expect them to in these games."

Batavia (18-4, 5-2) made a late push with three 3-pointers during a 10-1 run to get to within 41-37 with 2:20 to play, but could get no closer.

"There are going to be nights like this where you don't shoot the ball very well," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "But you have to find other ways to get points and we didn't. I have to give St. Charles North the credit because they had a lot to do with that. They really played us well defensively. They forced us into becoming stagnant."

Kyle Lefevre had 12 points and Jayden Johnson added10 to lead Batavia in scoring.