Hudson Kirby’s big opener powers Geneva past South Elgin

GENEVA – Geneva senior Hudson Kirby started the game with a bang and then just kept popping shots.

The 6-foot-6 forward scored on a layup 46 seconds after the opening tip on Monday night. He hit his first six shots and finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting as the host Vikings dispatched South Elgin 53-26 at the Bob Schick Thanksgiving Tournament.

“I think it was my teammates finding me in transition,” Kirby said. “Whenever I get those dunks, I always feel super confident. I was able to finish wherever.”

That was true of most of the Vikings, who forced 25 turnovers and often scored off transition fast breaks.

Kirby and junior guard Jack Hatton scored on back-to-back layups to give Geneva (1-0) a 12-2 lead after the first quarter.

Hatton finished with five points and five steals, one of which led to a layup by Anish Buddaraju that made it 16-2.

South Elgin’s Ilija Babic sank a turnaround jumper to stop the 14-0 run, but it was only a temporary reprieve. Hatton responded with a 3-pointer, then made a steal and fed Kirby for a dunk to make it 21-4 at the 5:48 mark of the second quarter.

It was the first of three dunks by Kirby, who accelerated down the lane for the last two stuffs.

“He’s scary athletic,” Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. “He’s bouncy and he does so many things.

“He can handle the ball and he’s improved his shooting. I know he didn’t make (a 3-pointer) tonight, but he’s really worked on his shot.

“He’s just so dynamic at his size to be able to do what he can do. I’m proud of him.”

Kirby missed his only trey try but made nearly everything else. He also led all players with nine rebounds and four assists, and added two steals to the finest effort of his career.

But Kirby gave props to his teammates. The Vikings shot 22 of 45 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line while committing 11 turnovers. They did it despite the starters sitting the final seven minutes.

“When my teammates are able to space out, it takes all the pressure off me,” Kirby said. “I can showboat.”

Gabe Jensen scored nine points, including a layup that triggered a running clock with 6:50 left in the fourth quarter. Buddaraju, Nathan Palmer and Elliot Kroeyrl all scored six points, with Buddaraju adding six rebounds and Kroeyrl three steals.

The Vikings won despite being without five football players. Geneva’s football team is playing East St. Louis on Saturday in the Class 6A state championship game in Normal.

“I feel like we could be really special,” Kirby said. “We’re still missing a lot of people from football. Once we start our conference play, I feel like we’re going to show a lot of teams that we’re the real deal.”

Hennig is obviously fine with waiting another week to get the football players back.

“I am so excited and proud of our football program and what they’ve done,” Hennig said. “We’re just going with what we’ve got and then we’ll welcome those football players in with open arms after they hopefully win the state championship.”

Ishmael George scored six points to lead South Elgin (0-1), which shot 1 for 10 in the first quarter and 8-for-40 overall.