Batavia needed a win on Wednesday night in its final Boys Basketball game of the regular season to clinch a Monroe County Division league championship.
A loss would mean they were co-champions.
The Blue Devils improved to 14-6 with a 76-45 win over Greece Odyssey.
"It was a big game for us in that respect. We didn't want to be co-champions," said Coach Buddy Brasky. "We wanted to be sole champions. And they've been one of the hottest teams in Monroe County over the last month, and they've been playing really good basketball, scoring a lot of points. So we really emphasized in practice leading up to this game defense and toughness."
In the second half, Odyssey (11-9) didn't help their cause, committing five technical fouls.
"They lost their composer, which was just a shame because they're a good team, and it's just too bad that that happened to them," Brasky said. "I just warned our kids, don't retaliate. Don't talk back if they're talking trash to you. Let them do all of that, and we'll just keep playing basketball, and the score on the scoreboard will be your answer to them."
Brasky is feeling good about his team heading into the postseason.
"Well, it's just what we've been preaching all year," Brasky said. 'It's, we've got to become a defensive first team, and we have struggled with that at some times this year, and we've got to be a tougher team. Toughness and defense are the things that will lead us there, and we've had a good step forward in that way tonight."
Scoring for Batavia:
- Carter Mullen, 20 points
- Casey Mazur, 19 points
- Justin Smith, 15 points
- Gavin White, 12 points
Photos by Steve Ognibene. To view or purchase photos, click here.
