Tousana, Ivan lead Batavia past Geneva

There was a different verdict in the nightcap of the Geneva-Batavia doubleheader Friday, as the Batavia boys scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back in a 55-42 triumph.

The Bulldogs (7-2, 2-1) snapped a minor two-game skid as six different players connected from beyond the line of demarcation in the opening half.

Perhaps even more important, Batavia would not allow Geneva (5-4, 1-3) to reach double figures in any of the first three quarters.

The Bulldogs' electric backcourt, point-guard extraordinaire Trent Tousana and 6-foot-7 off-guard Ethan Ivan, were once again the primary agents of the Vikings' demise.

Ivy converted three of the Bulldogs' nine 3-pointers to score a game-high 17 points.

Tousana (9 points, 6 assists) had a 4-point play - the senior received an extra free throw for an intentional foul - with exactly 60 seconds to play to single-handedly end a Geneva

uprising.

"This week (the focus has been) defense, defense, defense," Ivan said. "We really stopped them (from) running their offense. We trust everyone with shooting. Everyone

on the team can shoot at all times."

Charlie Saul, who had all 6 of his points on two 3-pointers, gave Batavia a 32-17 cushion at the break.

Geneva would apply its own defensive tenacity to open the third, holding Batavia with a single point for almost five minutes.

But Geneva could only reduce its 15-point deficit to 11 during the Bulldogs' drought.

Despite scoring only 5 points in the third, Batavia still held a 37-23 lead after three quarters.

"We have struggled all year to score at times," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. "I thought we had some good looks. They are hard to score against in the paint - and they

are prepared."

But Geneva finally went on a run to open the fourth quarter.

Chris Suger capped a 13-6 quarter-opening run to reduce the Bulldogs' lead to 43-36.

But Austin Ambrose stopped the Vikings' run with consecutive field goals.

The Bulldogs' post not only finished with 15 points but principally praised Tousana for his production.

"Anybody would dream to have a point guard like him," Ambrose said "He is always finding you and hitting open shots himself."

Michael Lawrence and Max Jensen led Geneva with 13 and 10 points, respectively.