Geneva pulls away from Elk Grove

Elk Grove tried to set the hook, but Geneva was able to wiggle free for a 72-50 nonconference boys basketball victory Saturday in Elk Grove.

Geneva, which was coming off a come-from-behind overtime win over Wheaton North on Friday, found itself down to Elk Grove 10-2 in the first 2:15.

"We tried to avoid that," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. "We talked about coming out strong, but Elk Grove came out ready to play."

Elk Grove (4-12) led 13-5 with just over 4 minutes left in the first quarter when Geneva showed why the Vikings are one of the top teams in the state.

Geneva (15-0) ran off the next 5 points on its way to a 12-2 run to pull ahead 17-15. After the teams traded baskets, Elk Grove scored the final 4 points on a pair of baskets by Sean Cherry to lead 21-19 after the first quarter.

Geneva led 28-27 with 4:26 left in the first half when the Vikings completely woke up from their slumber.

Geneva looked like a team that was unbeaten. The Vikings moved the ball around the perimeter of Elk Grove's zone and began connecting on their shots with Ben Johlie hitting a pair of 3-pointers. They also forced 7 turnovers down the stretch and finished with the final 14 points of the half and a 42-27 advantage.

"We got it going in the second quarter," said Mitch Miscari, who would finish with 19 points including five 3-pointers.

"I think we just had to wake up a little bit. We came out slow, but as soon as we started making shots, getting steals and getting defensive stops we got it rolling."

Geneva wasn't done. The Vikings continued to pull away in the third quarter and broke it wide open with a 7-0 run late in the quarter to lead 62-38.

"After we fell behind, we got it going," said Geneva's Jack McDonald, who finished with 21 points. "We said we had to play. We picked it up on defense and got some turnovers and that led to offense."

Hennig, whose team won the Wheeling Hardwood Classic last week and has played 6 games in the last 11 days, said he'd be looking forward to having some time off.

"We were joking before the game that these guys are tired," Hennig said. "I am looking forward to getting back to practice. We haven't really had a whole lot of time and we have some guys banged up."

Johlie and Alex Williams each had 8 points for the Vikings while Reilly Waldoch added 6 points.

Elk Grove coach Nick Oraham said he is looking for consistent play from his team.

"We played really hard," Oraham said. "It is just trying to find that consistency for 32 minutes. We knew we could hopefully jump on them early after they were coming off an emotional game. We just struggle a bit at times."

Devin McKinney led Elk Grove with 12 points. Riley Rathman had 11 points while Ryne Singsank had 9 points and Tim Varga 7 points.