The Blue Devils started a little flat in their first-round match of Section V playoffs at Batavia High School on Saturday, going a few minutes into the first quarter before scoring.
Defense and poor ball handling by Waterloo, who came into the game seeded #8 with a season record of 5-13, kept the game notched at 0-0 for more than three minutes.
Batavia would find their range, though, and finish out the first quarter with a 13-2 lead on their way to a 60-37 victory.
Justin Washington led all scorers with 19 points and crossed the 1,000-career-point milestone.
"It’s hard to keep these guys motivated (playing a #8 seed) and keep the good habits you try to build," said Head Coach Buddy Brasky. "I thought we did a fairly good job for most of that game, staying within our defensive principles. That was the whole big concern for me, you know, not to start reaching, going for steals. We want to play solid defensively. That’s what’s going to lead us to the sectional title."
Jalen Smith, a key spark for Batavia's offense, hadn't touched a basketball in a week, Braskey said. He hadn't been out of bed in four days. Half the team, he said, has been sick most of the week, which explains as much about the slow start as playing the #8 seed.
"That was part of it, too," Brasky said. "We’ve really been battling this flu since last Saturday."
After Washington scored his 1,000th point in the fourth quarter, announcer Wayne Fuller stopped the game for the announcement and Washington's teammates and coaches congratulated him on the achievement.
"It means a lot to me," Washington said. "It’s something to talk about my whole varsity career. After Andrew (Hoy) did it, I wanted to do it."
Washington has been a pleasure to coach through his four seasons as a varsity starter, Brasky said.
"He’s been a really nice kid to have in our program and I’m really happy for him," Brasky said.
Next up for Batavia, a semi-final match against #5 seed Livonia, 8:15 p.m., Tuesday, at RIT.
Also, last night, Le Roy's boys fell to #1 seed Hornel, 62-42. Scoring for Le Roy: Marcus Mistersaro 7; Zach Moore 11; Nate Piazza 6; Le Roy finishes the year 6-13.
The other big Section V boys basketball game this week: #1 seed Notre Dame (19-0) vs. #5 Avon (13-7), 7 p.m., at Cal-Mum.
In girls Section V playoff action:
- Batavia plays PalMac, 6 p.m., Monday, at Pittsford-Sutherland
- Elba and Notre Dame square off at 8 p.m., Tuesday, at Dansville
Coverage Note: We're not completely settled on what we'll cover yet. On Monday night, at most we can cover one game because I'll be at the Batavia City Council meeting. On Tuesday, Nick Sabato will cover Batavia and I'll cover Elba/Notre Dame.
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