This team can play
In loss, Batavia proves it's one of state's top teams
Don't be surprised that Batavia's Ricky Clopton took the shot that would have sent the Bullogs to a third overtime against Simeon Saturday in the Batavia Night of Hoops nightcap, which the Wolverines won 68-65.
Granted, the sophomore big man was probably the fifth Bulldog on the floor that most fans thought would hoist that attempt from the corner, but it shouldn't shock anyone.
Not after the Bulldogs stuck with the Wolverines, winners of the last two Class AA state championships. Not after playing like a championship-caliber team .
Saturday night cemented it for me.
Every great team needs that one guy you can hang your hat on, the one guy who will hit an improbable, running 3-pointer when the legs go one way and the torso goes the other like Nick Fruendt did with 14 seconds left in the second overtime.
Every great team needs that big man then to pass off when he's double-teamed, which is exactly what Fruendt did in the final ticks. Granted, Clopton missed the shot. But here's the thing -- the sophomore had the wherewithal to collect the wobbly feed, step back and try the 3-pointer.
I wouldn't have been surprised if he tried an extra pass, or even just forgot where he was and shot it from 2-point range. But he didn't. He stayed collected.
Just like the rest of the Bulldogs.
In the first half, when Fruendt was held to just nine points, it was the rest of the Bulldogs that kept the Wolverines from running them out of the gym. Phil Albrecht hit 3-pointers from anywhere. David Bryant and Jordan Smith hustled in on the weakside for tip-ins.
It was 26-23 Simeon at half and I was wondering how in the heck Batavia was still in the game.
"Everyone has their role on the team and we know when it's down to crunch time Nick will get the ball, but a lot of teams just focus on him and everyone just has to step up and do what they do," Bryant said.
There were plenty of opportunities for the Bulldogs to just crack, to just let the game go. With Batavia trailing 64-62 late in the second overtime, Simeon's man-child Stan Simpson pinned Clopton's layup attempt to the backboard with 25 seconds left, setting up a layup by Brandon Orange.
Right then, I figured the Bulldogs would pack it in -- down four with 19 seconds left.
Then Fruendt somehow manufactured that 3-pointer, and hope was renewed -- at least for a few more seconds. And had Illinois State-bound Simeon guard Kenyon Smith not made a Division I-caliber play when he stole the ball from Bryant with just under 10 seconds left, this column might have been about a Bulldogs' winner.
Regardless, Saturday night's loss showed something.
I'm not going to say that the Bulldogs are going to make it to Peoria -- I can't disrespect the other fine teams in their sectional that easily.
But they do have that little something extra that makes you think they can hang with the best this state has to offer in Class 4A.
"We'll definitely learn from this game," Bryant said. "We know we can play with anyone now."
jowczarski@scn1.com
