Bulldogs leap off page to start 2009

SYCAMORE -- Happy new year, indeed.

Since the calendar had turned the page on 2008, Batavia's basketball players decided they should, too. Considering their 6-5 start to the season, which is far from their recent norm, the decision had merit.

"We're kind of thinking of it as a new year, a new start," said David Bryant, who came up one rebound short of a triple-double Tuesday in helping lead the Bulldogs to a 77-55 Western Sun Conference blowout of Sycamore (5-6, 2-1).

The 6-foot-4-inch senior guard had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Bulldogs evened their league record at 2-2.

"It wasn't like we were getting killed in most of our games," Bryant said. "In a lot of them it was just a couple of possessions, a couple of mistakes or a couple shots that didn't fall that kept us from having a better record."

More performances like this, and that will quickly change.

Both teams were in the proverbial zone, just not the same one. Batavia's shooters got the upper hand on the overmatched and undersized Spartans' 2-3 and 1-3-1 defensive alignments.

"It's easier to get open shots," said Batavia senior shooting guard Ben Potter, whose game-high 20 points included six from beyond the arc, often off Bryant passes.

"We've only had one or two teams zone us this year. We like zone. We get a lot of open looks. I was surprised they stayed with it. After each timeout, coach (Jim Roberts) said they'd come out man but they never did.

"They pushed (the tempo) up a little bit but we were pretty hot."

Scorching.

The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 62 percent (32-of-52) from the floor for the game and 54 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc.

"We knew if we went man-to-man they'd spread us out, and Bryant is so good it would have been tough for us," said Sycamore coach Jeff Hillmer, who was disappointed his team didn't aggressively contest more Batavia shots in the first half.

"Everybody shoots well here. I think these must be the best rims in the Western Sun Conference."

It looked like it, especially at the end of the first quarter.

Sycamore trailed 20-5 when Harlan Johnson (team-high 13 points) pulled down a rare Spartans rebound (Batavia finished with a 35-17 advantage), took a dribble out to the free-throw line and heaved a bulletlike shot that barely cleared the front of the rim nearly 70 feet away and hit nothing but net to close the quarter.

"The ref told me we ought to run that play more often," Hillmer dryly noted.

"I had told our kids this was not the Batavia of the past (few years) where they're thinking about getting tickets in Peoria, and that if you rebound and shoot well, it will be a game."

It wasn't.

"As small as we are, we've gotta be more aggressive," Hillmer said. "But the most impressive thing I thought was how they moved the ball."

And that started with Bryant. Count the Sycamore coach a member of his fan club.

"I love the way Bryant plays," Hillmer said. "As a former point guard I can appreciate him. He's so smooth with the ball, it's fun to watch."

But not nearly as enjoyable as it was from the opposing bench.