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St. Charles East shoots past Batavia

There was little sense of panic.

It seemed as if St. Charles East coach Pat Woods watched every single 3-pointer Batavia put up find the bottom of the basket to begin Friday night's game.

But, again, there was no panic.

The relentless pressure and balanced scoring attack not only allowed the Saints to have confidence, but it also pushed them back into the game and beyond. East saw 12 different players score, erasing that early deficit in a 79-65 victory over the Bulldogs.

Senior Chase Monkemeyer had a team-high 19 points. He was one of four Saints (9-5, 4-1 DuKane Conference) in double figures Friday night.

"I think (our pace) wore them down quite a bit," Monkemeyer said. "We just kind of kept persevering through it and kept playing with each other. We believe in the way we play, no matter what the score is or how the game begins."

That East pace and pressure caused 23 Batavia turnovers, nine of which came in a second quarter when the Saints had a 25-11 advantage in scoring.

Thomas Ditsworth, who scored 12 points, joined Monkemeyer in double figures, as did Zack Clodi and Sean Sullivan, who added 10 points apiece.

Jayden Johnson led the Batavia (7-8, 2-3) attack with a game-high 25 points, included a blistering 4-for-6 shooting from long range in that first quarter.

Despite making six 3-pointers in the first eight minutes, the Bulldogs only saw East battle back to level, at 20-20, after one quarter.

"I think that's just it," Woods said. "We knew Batavia was well-rested, playing at home in front of a great crowd… they were going to start fast. But, what I love about our kids is that we use the word relentless a lot. We were just relentless with our pressure, wore them down and it showed. We played 10 different guys to help sustain that energy. That's kind of the identity of this team."

The Saints played all 13 players that were dressed Friday night, which both Woods and the players attributed to why the pressure was so effective.

Ditsworth said that no matter how tired the starting group gets, they know they can give it everything they have when on the court because of the lack of 'drop off' coming off of the bench.

"There's honestly no drop off when we sub guys in," Ditsworth said. "I think we're so relentless with our pressure because of our depth. When you're put there, you give it everything you have because you know the next guy coming in is going to do the exact same thing for you."

Not only did the pressure and up-tempo offense show its form on the scoreboard, but also on that red-hot early shooting from the Bulldogs. After making six of its first 10 3-point attempts in the first quarter, Batavia made just three of its final 21 attempts for the rest of the game.

Both Johnson and Devin Cheaney (10 points) recorded double-doubles in the contest for Batavia with exactly ten rebounds each.

"I think there's no question they wore us down a little bit," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "What St. Charles East does well, they do very well. It's a game where they're not going to allow us to run an offense (with their pressure). They make you make quick decisions and we made some poor ones at times tonight… We just have to recover, regroup and get back to it. There's another good team waiting for us on Monday."

Batavia's Kyle Neibch shoots for three during a home game against St. Charles East on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
Jayden Johnson of Batavia gets the ball to the basket during a home game against St. Charles East on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
Batavia's Devin Cheaney looks for a shot during a home game against St. Charles East on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
Batavia's Ethan Ivan drives toward the basket Friday. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
Batavia Head Coach Jim Nazos yells to his team during a home game against St. Charles East on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Chase Monkemeyer scoops up a shot during the Saints' 79-65 win Friday at Batavia. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Joseph Musial (3) gets a shot up during a game at Batavia on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East Head Coach Patrick Woods yells to his team during a game at Batavia on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Aidan Sullivan (25) looks for a shot during a game at Batavia on Jan. 9. Sandy Bressner / sbressner@shawmedia.com
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