Batavia 59, Yorkville 42

Sitting folded up or hanging in a locker, a basketball uniform isn't much to look at.

You've got a shirt -- in Batavia's case Friday night, the shirts were the school's traveling dark red color with short sleeves and yellow trim. The shorts were similarly colored, matching the shirts.

But for Nick Fruendt, putting on that uniform took on a special meaning because he hadn't done it since Dec. 8, after which he suffered a bout of mononucleosis.

"It was kind of like an old memory," Fruendt said. "The games are dwindling down and the time is more special. I was just trying to soak it all in."

Batavia is having a superb season, and that continued Friday, when the Bulldogs defeated Yorkville 59-42. The visitors in this Western Sun Conference clash seemed in synch most of the contest, and didn't seem out of tune when Fruendt entered the game with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

"We've played together since way back," Fruendt said. "It's one of the things we've talked about, that this is the last time we get to play together. It's really special and we've got to savor it."

Fruendt played sparingly in the game, entering at about the midpoint of each quarter.

"He got his legs underneath him," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "It's a process. I think he felt more comfortable as the night went on."

Batavia (14-2, 6-1) was ahead 13-1 when Fruendt entered the game. That jump start was ignited by Stewart Charles, who had 6 points, got steals and made life miserable for Yorkville (5-11, 0-6.)

Charles replaced Fruendt in the starting lineup when Fruendt became ill. Charles started Friday's game as well.

"Usually our defense is our best offense," Charles said. "As you saw, when we were pressing, we got a lot of fastbreak layups."

David Bryant and Fruendt each scored 11 points to lead Batavia in scoring, and Charles added 10. Yorkville's Jordan Rollins was the high scorer of the night and scored all 14 of his points in the second half.

By the end of the first quarter, Batavia led 22-7. Yorkville closed to 14 points a number of times in the second and third quarters, but was never able to seriously dent the Bulldogs lead.

The game still had its oddities. In the second quarter, Batavia only outscored the Foxes 9-8. And of those 17 points, 15 came as free throws. A Fruendt baseline jumper was the only field goal for either team in the quarter.

"The first quarter, (the offense) was pretty good," Roberts said. "After that, it was stagnant sometimes. We're going to have to get better."