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Batavia boys beat Blanchester 60-50

Friday, 21 December 2007

By SHAWN ROBINSON

Sports Writer

BATAVIA — Batavia (4-4, 4-2) used a 22-6 first half run to erase an eight-point Blanchester lead and go on to a 60-50 victory Friday in Southern Buckeye Conference action.

The Wildcats (2-6, 2-4) came out hot, hitting six of their first eight shots, to go up 14-8 with 1:06 left in the first period. A.J. Wiley had eight points and Steven White added four during the game-opening spurt.

With White out of the game with two fouls and a lid seemingly on the Blanchester hoop, Batavia ran wild. The Wildcats missed five of their next six shots while the Bulldogs tied the game at 14 less than a minute into the second quarter.

“When Steven is sitting next to me on the bench, things aren’t going well,” Blanchester head coach Bennie Carroll said. “We don’t have anyone with his physical presence to replace him. They were a little bigger and that created some mismatches.”

Batavia’s run would eventually reach 10 straight points before a Wiley bucket made it 18-16 at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter.

The Bulldogs then reeled off 10 more consecutive points on their way to a 30-20 halftime lead. Andrew Avery scored eight of the 10 points on his way to a team-high 15.

“We started playing well defensively, but when we went to the bench in the second quarter, we kind of lost our focus,” Carroll said. “Then, we missed 10 or 11 layups. It kind of zaps your energy.”

Batavia led by as much as 57-39 with four minutes left in the contest.

But, the Wildcats kept scratching and clawing, ending the game on an 11-3 run.

No play epitomized Blan’s effort more than Wiley’s diving attempt for a steal with his team down 15 with 3:30 left in the game. The Wildcat senior guard, who finished with a game-high 16 points, landed hard on the floor. He stayed there for a few minutes before teammates helped him to the bench. He did not return to the game and needed assistance getting to the locker room after the game.

Blanchester’s reserves lost 38-31 to fall to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference. Eric Cook led the way with 10 points.

The Wildcat freshman dropped to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference with a 41-37 loss. Jake McClanahan had 19 points.

SUMMARY

BLAN — 14 6 14 16 — 50

BATAVIA — 11 19 16 14 — 60

BLANCHESTER (50) — Ballinger 0-3-3, Lewis 0-0-0, Creager 2-0-4, Wiley 7-2-16, White 5-4-14, Starks 3-0-6, Freeman 0-0-0, Ross 2-2-7. TOTALS 19-11-50. 3-pointers — 1 (Ross). FTM-FTA 11-20, 55 percent.

BATAVIA (60) — Avery 5-5-15, Roberts 3-2-8, Collins 3-1-9, Florez 2-0-4, Simmons 6-1-13, Gibson 0-0-0, Corrill 2-0-4, Hensley 0-0-0, Heber 1-0-3, Eads 1-2-4. TOTALS 23-11-60. 3-pointers — 3 (Collins 2, Heber). FTM-FTA 11-24, 46 percent.