Geneva uses physical game plan to move past Wheaton Warrenville South in DuKane Conference opener

WHEATON — Geneva remembered how its season ended last season at the hands of Wheaton-Warrenville South.

So when it came out onto the court in its DuKane Conference opener Friday night, the Vikings knew they had to keep with what’s worked for them this season.

And it just so happened to mean getting the ball to senior Hudson Kirby in the paint.

“We were prepping for this game all week,” Kirby said. “We were running a new scheme, and we were just ready for everything that they had. We knew that I worked last time against them, and so we tried to do the same thing.”

And luckily for Geneva, the plan worked.

Kirby finished the night with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds to help lead the Vikings to a 52-34 victory over the Tigers.

“They just followed the game plan, and we had multiple guys step up,” Geneva coach Scott Henning said. “I thought we had some timely shots. We didn’t turn the ball over, which helped us out a lot. Just really proud of their effort and attention to detail. It was a great team win.”

Besides Kirby, Geneva (6-0, 1-0 DuKane Conference) found success from behind the arc in the game. Junior Gabe Jensen had 11 points, with nine coming from behind the 3-point line.

That threat from behind the line usually left Kirby on a one-on-one situation, where the senior would use his 6-foot-5 frame to as much as his advantage.

“They know that everyone out there is a threat for us,” Kirby said. “And so when I get a one-on-one, I feel like I can take anyone there.”

Henning said that part of the defensive success came from focusing on WW South’s senior guard Luca Carbonaro, who put up 27 points in the 61-59 regional semifinal that ended the Vikings' 2023 season. As an early result, Geneva managed to limit WW South to just 11 points in the first half.

“He’s one of the best players in the state and he’s played really well against us in the past,” Henning said. “We really coached these guys up on the game plan and what we wanted. We knew he was going to get some points, but we didn’t want him having a Luca night. We’ve seen plenty of that.”

One of the players tasked with staying on Carbonaro was sophomore Nelson Wendell, who just joined the team earlier in the week after playing in the Class 6A football state title game on Nov. 30.

“Coach just told us to be physical with him and just stay on him the whole time,” Wendell said. “We just wanted to make sure we didn’t let him get the ball and deny the ball from him.”

Despite the heavy focus on him, Carbonaro finished the night with a team-high 13 points, including two buzzer-beating 3s in both the first and third quarters. He also had five rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block in the game.

“There’s a reason why they did that, because he’s a great player,” WW South coach Mike Healy said. “We just have to help him out more on the offensive end. It just seemed like we couldn’t string some shots together, and it just kind of snowballed for us.”

WW South (2-3, 0-1) managed to pick up the scoring in the third quarter, outscoring Geneva 16-15 in the frame. Despite the tough open to conference play, Healy felt that the team took a step in the right direction.

“Sometimes, you’re going to have days like that, and that’s what we told the kids,” Healy said. “We’ll flush that part of the game and be excited that we played with a bit more toughness and grit. It’s a long season. It’s not anything to get too freaked out about.”

The Tigers did up exiting the gym with a win over the Vikings in the girls basketball match right before, as Shea Carver’s 20-point night helped WW South to a 56-52 victory.