Kane County Chronicle / KCChronicle.com • Saturday, March 1, 2014
| SPORTS
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BOYS BASKETBALL: GENEVA 44, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 39
Vikings grind out win in UEC crossover game By IAN MATTHEWS editorial@kcchronicle.com GENEVA – On what became a memorable night for the Geneva boys basketball team, the Vikings played their typical halfcourt defense, grind-out affair in a 44-39 Upstate Eight Conference second-place crossover win over Waubonsie Valley. Friday’s regular season finale win moved the Vikings to 22-5 on the year, the most victories for a Geneva team since 1982. Geneva will play the winner of Monday night’s Wheaton-Warrenville South-Plainfield East play-in game Wednesday in an IHSA Class 4A Plainfield East regional semifinal. “When you don’t have your offensive game going you can always get your defense there, and that’s what we’ve been working on all season,” Geneva guard Chris Parrilli said. “That’s what’s going to help us Wednesday night. If we end up playing Plainfield East, they will have a home-court advantage with Aaron Jordan. If we can get our defense there, that will help us win it.” Geneva’s defense was especially stingy in the second half against Waubonsie Valley. The Vikings led, 37-32, after three quarter and really put the clamps down, only permitting five fourth quarter points to seal the win. The Warriors stayed close in the third quarter thanks to three, back-door lay-ins from Matt Gialamos. The Vikings fixed the problem in the fourth quarter, permitting only a Jack Cordes layup with 7:19 in the fourth quarter and a 3-pointer from Chris Karkazis that cut Geneva’s lead to 42-39 with 1:43 to go. Leading 42-39 in the final minute, Geneva twice gave the Warriors a chance to tie the game. After a Geneva travel with 42 seconds to go, Warriors guard Nick Karkazis was called for a travel that gave Geneva the ball right back. Parrilli was then called for an offensive foul that gave Waubonsie Valley the ball
back with 21 seconds to go. Nick Karkazis had an open look from the right corner for the tie, but the ball rimmed out and was corralled by Nate Navigato with 7 seconds to go. Navigato eluded one defender, passing the ball to a streaking Parrilli who was fouled with 4.8 on the clock. The senior knocked down both free throws to help Geneva pull out the victory. “I thought our kids played unbelievable defense tonight; that looked like a Geneva defensive team,” Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. “We had a lot of kids who stepped up and played great defense. Pace [Temple] was just dynamite. Parrilli did a phenomenal job. Daniel [Santacaterina] came off the bench and did a phenomenal job, especially pressuring balls. There were a lot of positives defensively.” Ralston called Geneva’s own offensive struggles a lack of execution, but the game perfectly fit the Vikings’ slow-down style. Ironically, many of Geneva’s second half points came on fastbreak baskets, something the veteran coach doesn’t mind at all. “I just want the best possible shot that we can get and if that’s a fast break we’ll use the fast break,” Ralston said. “Actually, that was probably the best aspect of our offense tonight. I’ve always believed – for right or for wrong – that the teams that seem to do the best in the state tournament are the teams that score out of half-court sets. You don’t really see anyone who advances who can’t do that.” Parrilli knocked down three, 3-pointers to lead Geneva with 16 points, the only Vikings player in double-figures. “It was a weird day. We didn’t have school, so we definitely not used to the long day,” Parrilli said. “My teammates were finding me in the pockets all day. It’s a lot easier when your teammates are finding you with wide-open looks.” Cordes finished with 11 points for the Warriors, who take on Naperville North on Tuesday at the Lemont regional.
BOYS BASKETBALL: ST. CHARLES EAST 80, METEA VALLEY 67
Saints grab momentum By DENNIS D. JACOBS editorial@kcchronicle.com ST. CHARLES – A.J. Washington talked about wanting to go out with a bang in his final home game at St. Charles East. It was more like a detonation. Washington scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had three slams, including a reverse jam with 12 seconds left that put the exclamation mark on an 80-67 victory over Metea Valley in Friday’s Upstate Eight Conference crossover game. “I’ve been saving that one up all year,” Washington said. “That was the moment. … Last game in this building, so I put it all on the line. I just wanted to go out on a bang.” Washington’s first jam attempt of the night went awry, but he got a second chance when Cole Gentry tapped the rebound to him and he made good on it. That was in the middle of a 9-0 run by the Saints (16-11) that saw them erase a 9-8 lead by the Mustangs. “A.J. was a beast tonight,”
Gentry said. “It was his last [home] game and I’m glad we got him a win to go out. He played really well. [Jake] Asquini hit some big shots – some big 3s. Everybody was contributing.” Asquini, a 6--foot-2 junior, hit a 3 from the right side to give East its largest lead of the night at 32-13 early in the second quarter. He scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half as the Saints took a 40-28 lead into the locker room at the half. Metea Valley scored the first five points of the third quarter to get back into the contest, but Washington hit a jumper from the right baseline to help reverse the momentum. “A.J.’s been a force for us all year,” East coach Pat Woods said. “I’m really happy he was able to end with the two-hand reverse. That’s a great way to play your last game in this gym.” It also marked the final home game for senior guard Dom Adduci, who sprained an ankle a week earlier at Elgin. Adduci didn’t enter the game until there was just 1:19 left in
the fourth quarter, but 19 seconds later he drilled a 3-pointer. He missed another 3-point attempt from the right corner moments later. “I was happy that Dom hit that 3,” Woods said. Woods indicated Adduci’s ankle injury is improving and he should be ready if needed when the Saints open postseason play Monday at St. Charles North against Streamwood. Gentry ran the offense in Adduci’s absence and scored 20 points. “I was just trying to come out and get everybody involved, but be conscious to score a little more,” Gentry said. “I just tried to be aggressive going to the rim the whole game.” Gentry also had a big game against the Mustangs earlier in the season, which ended with an East loss. “They beat us last time and we didn’t feel like we played our best,” Washington said. “Tonight we came out – seniors last game in this building – so we wanted to come out hot and we wanted to go out on a four-game win streak.”
PREP ROUNDUP
BC boys hoops falls to BNC East champs KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE RICHMOND – When his Burlington Central boys basketball team dwindled what had been a double-digit deficit down to only three points in the fourth quarter Friday night, coach Brett Porto believed the Rockets had one final push in them. Turns out, Richmond-Burton proved to be the one that kept some reserve in the tank. R-B poured in 13 points in the final three minutes and limited Central when it mattered most in a 76-67 victory to capture the outright Big Northern Conference East Division title. The championship was R-B’s fourth division crown in the past six years and first 20-win season
More online Go to KCChronicle.com to check out video highlights from the Burlington Central boys basketball game. since 1989-90. “It was a game of runs and they ended on the run,” Porto said. “We liked where we were at, and I would have liked to see us respond a little better. “But they just hit a few more shots.” Central (15-8, 7-4 BNC East) got 27 points from Reed Hunnicutt and 21 points from Brett Rau in the loss. The Rockets got as close as 64-61 with 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. But R-B,
which hit 10 3-point field goals in the title-clinching win, scored the game’s next six points to re-establish its lead. Central led 37-34 at the half, but then was outscored in each of the final two quarters – including by nine points in the third quarter. R-B (20-7, 10-2) got 23 points from Brian Wells, who hit a team-best three 3-point field goals along with Mike Kaska.
Wheaton Academy 59, Marmion 49: At West Chicago, Josh Ruggles scored 16 points as Wheaton Academy (19-8, 10-0 Suburban Christian Conference Blue) closed out an unbeaten run through conference. • Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.