Boys basketball: Senior-led Batavia rallies back to best Hillcrest 49-45

BATAVIA – With its double-digit lead down to a single point in the closing minutes Jan. 20, Batavia appeared on the brink of a devastating loss.

But the senior-laden Bulldogs made all the key plays down the stretch in a 49-45 win over Hillcrest in the finale of their own 30th annual Jim and Sylvia Roberts “Night of Hoops.”

“I feel like we’ve been in that situation a few times,” said Jax Abalos, who led Batavia with 13 points. “We stayed disciplined, we stayed calm as a team and just tried to make the right plays.

“Hillcrest is a fast team and they try to speed teams up. You have to stay disciplined.”

The Bulldogs (14-6), who were coming off a 48-29 loss to DuKane Conference leader Lake Park on Jan. 19, led by as many as 13 points in the opening half.

That margin still stood at 10 late in the third quarter before a 10-1 Hawks’ run brought the visitors to within 41-40 with 3:40 left.

CJ Valente scored Batavia’s first basket of the fourth quarter on an offensive rebound with 2:50 remaining and Nate Nazos followed with a layup a minute later. Nazos, who scored nine points, and Abalos also knocked down a pair of free throws apiece in the final seconds.

Valente finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

“Obviously after the game [Jan. 19] this was a huge win,” Valente said. “We pushed the pace and played a lot better overall. With our experience, we are able to withstand runs and when we are under pressure, we are able to get through that. Our tough schedule helps with that as well.”

The Bulldogs, who sit in second place in the DuKane Conference, also got five points from Jacobs Aseltine and four points from Luke Alwin.

Batavia made eight 3-pointers in the contest with Abalos hitting three.

“I’m proud of the guys,” Bulldogs coach Jim Nazos said. “A lot of things went wrong for us [Jan. 19], but they got up and got right back at it. Hillcrest is a great program and they came in having won six in a row. We had a lot of contributors tonight.

“It’s a joy to coach this group. I don’t think there is another team in the state that has 14 seniors and they all understand their roles. They all get along, they all are buddies and a lot of them have been playing together since the second grade. They just love to play basketball. "