Batcho, Turner spark Flashes

January 18, 2017 at 12:06a.m.

NILES

The outside shooting of Niles and the inside play of Champion provided quite a show for fans Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Gymnasium. In fact, for 31 minutes, 52 seconds the clash of styles resulted in a stalemate.

However, in the end, the non-conference game between the Red Dragons and Golden Flashes came down to basic free-throw shooting. And with the game on the line, Champion senior Lucas Nasonti connected on a pair of shots from the charity stripe, giving the Golden Flashes an 81-79 road win.

Nasonti’s foul shots capped off a wild second half which featured six lead changes and six ties.

Following Nasonti’s free throws, Niles (4-9) had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but a 3-point attempt just missed its mark.

“That high-tempo style, that was a quite a crowd-pleaser,” said Champion coach Jamie Carrino. “It’s a fun game to be a part of as a player. It’s great for the fans. But, man, it gives us coaches fits.”

Champion (7-7) was led throughout the night by Drake Batcho. The junior scored a career-high 33 points, and dominated the boards. Many of Batcho’s baskets were the result of offensive rebounds.

Michael Turner added 20 points for Champion, while Nasonti — the Flashes’ all-time scoring leader — finished with 15.

Batcho’s career night and Champion’s win overshadowed the play of Niles’ Cyler Kane-Johnson. The sophomore connected on 10 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 37 points. Da’Jon Motley added 14 points for the Dragons.

Batcho and Kane-Johnson put on a show from the start. Batch scored 11 first-quarter points, and finished the first half with 20 points. Kane-Johnson scored 17 in the first eight minutes of play, and had 25 at intermission.

Champion led 25-21 after one period, and built its lead to 47-38 at the break.

But Niles went on a 12-2 run near the end of the third quarter, taking a 60-59 lead on a Ty’rese Williams jumper. From that point on, the two teams went back and forth.

“Niles has no quit in them,” Carrino said. “We had the lead for quite a while, but they just hung in there, they moved the ball well and Kane-Johnson had a phenomenal night. We knew Niles wasn’t going to go away. They never do.”

Niles held its last lead at 75-72 when Kane-Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 3:01 showing on the clock. However, Champion answered with a Chase Wheelock basket off an offensive rebound. That was followed by a pair of Batcho free throws.

“Our game plan was to hit the boards with Drake and Michael,” Carrino said. “They have the bodies for it. A lot of our best offense tonight came off of missed shots and offensive rebounds, so that proved to be huge.”

The 6-foot-4 Batcho insists his career night was the result of solid play from his teammates.

“We have some great scorers on this team, and when they drive the defense has to collapse on them,” Batcho said. “That frees me up to crash the boards. I’m just able to take advantage of the defense having to key on other guys.”