Downers Grove South's defense stymies Batavia

Make no mistake, Thursday night's effort was the best so far this season by Downers Grove South's Justin Eagins.

Sure, the senior guard actually scored more points the previous night in the Mustangs' first-round win over Highland Park at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York School. But his all-around effort in a 48-40 defeat of Batavia in round two left his coach singing his praises.

"That was the best Justin has played defensively for us this year," Downers Grove South coach Kris Olson said after his team advanced to a Friday night winners bracket battle against Wheaton North. "He scored 26 last night but this was his best all-around game. This was the best defense our team has played so far."

The 7-4 Mustangs held the Bulldogs to single digits in each of the first two quarters while clinging to a 17-15 lead at the half. Eagins managed 8 points in the defensive-dominated first half, then stayed strong on both ends of the floor while Downers Grove South extended its lead to 28-23 after three quarters. Eagins had 9 of his team's 11 points in the third quarter and would finish the night with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.

After 49 points in two days, the 6-foot-2 senior is fond of the gym at York.

"The rims are nice here, and the gym is pretty nice too," he said after his nine-field goal game against the Bulldogs (7-4).

Batavia coach Jim Nazos had three players score in double figures in the game led by Jayden Johnson's 14. But there was too much Eagins for the Mustangs and too many key moments where his team just couldn't get key baskets or key stops when the outcome was still up in the air.

"He's a nice player and we understand he's probably going to get some step-backs on us," Nazos said of Eagins. "We needed to limit his touches. When he touched the ball we lost the battle because he's a really good player."

Miscues in the first half - including a 6-1 disadvantage in turnovers while falling behind 11-6 in the first quarter - didn't help matters.

"We had too many turnovers that led to layups in the first half, and still we were only down 17-15 at the half," Nazos said. "We had some trouble in the open floor and we've got to get batter at it. We had bad moments and the lead would stretch from three to seven real quick. We can't do that against good teams."