advertisement

Geneva breaks free from Hampshire with 33-point 4th quarter

For three quarters Saturday night, Hampshire did all it could to make Geneva look anything like a 26-1 team.

Then came the final eight minutes, and the Vikings reminded Hampshire and everyone else in attendance why they enjoying such a special season about to embark on the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A Bartlett sectional.

Tied going into the fourth quarter, Geneva scored 33 points to pull away from Hampshire and win 73-56 on the Vikings' Hall of Fame Night in Geneva.

Playing his final home game, point guard Jack McDonald totaled 19 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. Fellow senior Mitch Mascari led Geneva's 39-21 rebounding dominance with 12 boards to go with 12 points, senior Kross Garth also scored 12 points and junior Josh Preston had 11.

"Sort of sad," said McDonald of his final home game after joining his senior teammates for a round of photos. "I loved playing out there obviously. Time definitely does fly.

"We really just stepped on the gas and closed it out. We didn't come out with the energy we needed and picked it up as the game went on. We have big goals and I think we can accomplish a lot if we play our game and hit shots."

Hampshire (15-14), coming off a tough Fox Valley Conference loss to Cary-Grove Friday night, led for most of the first three quarters - the biggest coming at 28-21 late in the first half.

Mascari ended the first half with a 3-pointer to bring Geneva (27-1) within 30-26 at halftime, then started the second half with another from 25 feet out.

Jeremy Rosa Jr. scored on a putback to restore a 3-point Hampshire advantage, and the Whips held onto the lead for the entire third quarter until McDonald closed it with a 3 to tie the game at 40 going to the fourth.

The Vikings quickly took the lead on nifty passing from McDonald to Preston who slipped a quick pass across the lane to Garth for a lay-in. Garth followed with a dunk, then a steal and a layup for a 46-40 lead.

Hampshire scored 6 straight to tie the game at 46 with 6:03 remaining before Geneva's 14-2 run broke the game open. Ben Johlie started the scoring, taking a feed from McDonald and knocking down a 3. After two free throws from Preston, McDonald found a seem through the lane and spun in a high degree of difficulty shot - maybe for anyone but him - for a 53-46 lead.

The rest of the surge included 7-for-7 free throw shooting from Mascari, Ben Johnson and Johlie, and before the Whips knew it, the game that had been tight all night was 60-48. Hampshire never got within single digits again.

"We got off to a slow start," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. "It's been a long week. Last night emotionally was a lot and then to come back and play a team like that, they are good. I think we finally woke up in the second half."

The only Hampshire points in Geneva's game-deciding run came from Collin Woods with a thunderous dunk in traffic over some of Geneva's size. Woods led all scorers with 23 points.

"I attacked the paint really aggressively and just got off the ground and threw it down," Woods said. "We have to finish games. We had it tied going to the fourth.

"We knew coming in it was a really big game. We know how talented they are. Offensively and defensively they were really solid. We were really pumped for this game and ready to play."

Hampshire only turned the ball over 6 times. Jackson Milison and Rosa both scored 9 points and Kyle Johnson had 8.

"I felt like our length defensively and our ability to switch kind of slowed them down a little bit," Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse said. "Our guys are confident and we want to get teams like this at the end of the season."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.