Geneva remains perfect with win over Bartlett
It wasn't the first half the Geneva Vikings were hoping for, but they used a strong first quarter and then matched any comeback attempt by the Bartlett Hawks to leave Bartlett with a 56-50 victory in boys basketball action Saturday night.
The Vikings made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and when the Hawks played up to contest the 3s, they would move it inside to convert four layups to build a 19-13 lead.
Senior point guard Jack McDonald (13 points) penetrated the Hawks defense when the lane would open for the spread out offense, and also moved the ball around the perimeter when the Hawks fell back.
"We set the high ball screen a lot of times, and that really opens things up sometimes," McDonald said. "There was some open space and when they were collapsing I was pushing it out, and when they weren't I was trying to get to the hoop. We had a lot of open shots, but they just weren't falling tonight, so we just have to keep working at it."
Trailing 29-22 at halftime, the Hawks moved within four points on their first possession of the second half when Hayden Angell (8 points, 8 rebounds) hit a 3-pointer. But the Vikings countered with seven straight points to retain the lead.
Bartlett again had a six-point run at the end of the third quarter. Trailing 38-28, Austin Gates converted two steals into layups and teammate Nicholas Wolf added a layup of his own to bring the Hawks back to within six, but the Hawks weren't able to sustain a rally against the Vikings.
Geneva (6-0) and Bartlett (2-4) matched points for the remainder of the game.
Geneva coach Scott Hennig was happy with the victory, but noticed some things he would like to clean up before the Vikings play again.
"They really killed us on the glass in the first half," Hennig said. "I think we missed some shots in the first half that we normally make. We didn't really do the little things. We didn't rebound the ball, especially in the first half, we didn't make the extra pass, and it just seemed like we had tired legs. I don't know how much Xs and Os it is. I think it's more about just rebounding, blocking out, cutting and screening."