Boys basketball: Jax Abalos rediscovers shooting stroke, sends Batavia past Downers Grove South in Tosh opener

ELMHURST – For Jax Abalos, opening presents and enjoying Christmas dinner over the holiday weekend had to wait.

There was no break in his game.

Batavia’s 6-foot-7 junior spent time in the gym Christmas Eve sharpening a shooting stroke that he felt had betrayed him recently.

“I’ve been off I feel the last week or so,” Abalos said. “Christmas Eve and this morning before practice I got in the gym to work on, to fix it.”

[ Photos: Batavia vs. Downers Grove South ]

It sure looked Tuesday like it was time well spent.

Abalos knocked down four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points, with eight of his points coming in the first quarter. Batavia built a 16-point halftime lead on the strength of Abalos’ shooting and stingy defense and held off Downers Grove South 53-43 in the first round of the 49th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York.

Batavia (10-2) advanced to face Glenbrook South, a 72-44 winner over Glenbard East.

Abalos wasted no time showcasing his next-level skill set.

The lanky junior soared for a tip-in for Batavia’s first basket and then made two of his 3-pointers less than three minutes into the game to stake Batavia to an early 11-4 lead that swelled to 18-8 by the end of the first quarter.

Abalos’ third 3-pointer, with 3:07 left in the second quarter, ballooned the margin to 31-14. He had a quiet middle two quarters but then hit two shots late to hold off Downers Grove South.

“I decided that this game I had to lock in to help my team,” said Abalos, who shot 6-for-15 for the game. “This game I took in the environment. I realized I had to do good this game. Once you start making them, they all start going in. I knew I had to get that bad shooting out of the system.”

The early dose of athleticism on the putback left a smile on Abalos’ face.

“A lot of people regard me as the shooter on the team,” Abalos said. “So it was nice to get that.”

Nate Nazos added 11 points with two key baskets in the third quarter to stem a Downers Grove South surge. Kyle Porter had six of his eight points in the second quarter and C.J. Valente had seven points for Batavia. Nine Bulldogs scored and even football star Charlie Whelpley had two big offensive rebounds late.

Batavia’s Jim Nazos noted it was a team effort, but the veteran coach also realizes he has a rare talent in Abalos. Earlier in the season, Abalos hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to top conference rival Wheaton North. On Tuesday, Abalos’ smooth shooting stood out in a rough-and-tumble game that featured bodies flying to the floor.

“I don’t think he understands how good he is going to be,” coach Nazos said of Abalos.

Richard Gasmen scored 11 points, eight in the second half, Justin Sveiteris had 10 and Jalen House contributed nine for Downers Grove South (9-3), which like Batavia has enjoyed a strong start to a bounce-back season.

The Mustangs, down 31-15 at halftime, came out of the break with renewed vigor, cutting the margin to 37-27 on a House basket. But Downers Grove South went four minutes without a field goal bridging the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. Batavia led 45-33 on an Abalos jumper with 5:53 left.

“The whole week we scouted them. We knew they were going to be a tough team,” Abalos said. “Every day we came to practice and we worked hard. We came to play today. We wanted this.”

That effort showed on the defensive end. Downers Grove South had seven offensive fouls.

“Downers Grove South is a very good team. That’s a good effort by us,” Nazos said. “They have a lot of weapons and they play hard, one of the hardest playing teams we’ve faced.

“Our team, we’re getting better. We are a deep team. We have different guys that can make plays for us at different times and did tonight.”