McDonald leads Geneva past Batavia
For three quarters Friday, Geneva executed its offense, got good looks, shot over 50 percent from the field and built a double-digit lead against rival Batavia.
For the final quarter, Geneva shot free throws. Over and over and over again.
The first three quarters certainly were more fun to watch - and play. Put those first three quarters of well-run offense together with the last one spent at the free-throw line and it added up to a 71-62 victory.
Nobody got to the line more than junior point guard Jack McDonald. After shooting 24 free throws a week earlier in a three-overtime win over St. Charles East, McDonald made 14 of 16 while scoring 32 points.
"It was sort of weird, the last four minutes had to take 25 minutes, it sort of got boring," McDonald said. "There wasn't much going on. We knocked down just enough to get the job done."
No. 16 Geneva (15-7, 5-2) passed No. 14 Batavia (18-5, 5-3) in the Upstate Eight River standings. The Vikings started strong behind McDonald and Mitch Mascari, whose putback gave Geneva a 9-7 lead after a quarter.
The Vikings took control in the second quarter. McDonald assisted Kross Garth and Jack Hood for transition lay-ins, then hit a floater of his own to make it 15-11. Mascari knocked down back-to-back 3s, both on passes from McDonald, before McDonald ended the half with a difficult left-handed finish at the rim after driving through the Batavia defense for a 25-17 lead.
"McDonald is very hard to guard, he put the pressure on us," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said.
Up 42-31 after three quarters, Geneva got a break early in the fourth quarter when Eric Peterson picked up his fourth and fifth fouls. The Vikings led 51-35 with four minutes left when Peterson fouled out, but those final four minutes lasted a half an hour when Batavia started fouling.
The Vikings, who didn't shoot a free throw in the first half, made 23 of 34 over the final 6:14. They missed just enough to give Batavia life, and the Bulldogs got within single digits when Riley Cooper nailed a 3 with 1:54 left to make it 57-49.
Batavia got as close as 6 points four times, the final one at 68-62 with :23.3 remaining. Mark Riley's free throw made it a 3-possession lead.
"I told one of my friends who came to the game the last three minutes were kind of like going to the dentist," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. "It was smart on Batavia's part. They had to do it. And we have to do a better job (making free throws)."
Mascari finished wish 20 points and a game-high 8 rebounds for Geneva, who outrebounded Batavia 27-22 and shot 18 of 34 (52.9 percent) from the field to Batavia's 20 for 48 (41.2). Hood added 7 points and Reilly Waldoch came off the bench for 6 rebounds.
McDonald also had 6 assists as he either made or assisted on 14 of Geneva's 18 field goals.
"He's a pass-first point guard and he's a great scorer too," Hennig said. "Remember Cole Gentry at St. Charles East? Jack is just like him. He's fun to coach, and I'm glad I've got him another year and a half."
Kyle LeFevre scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead Batavia in scoring. Peterson and Jayden Johnson both had 15 points.
"It's a great win," Hennig said. "Batavia has been playing well. I thought our shot selection was good. I thought we shared the ball."
Batavia will try to bounce back Saturday night at its annual Night of Hoops against St. Joseph.
"Geneva played well, they were efficient in their offense, we had trouble stopping them," Nazos said. "McDonald, Mascari are very good."