Southern Illinois football recruit Ben Fiegel fires up Batavia off bench in sectional. ‘Just being the juice guy.’

A star on the football field, Ben Fiegel is a role player off the bench in basketball for Batavia.

Whether he gets big minutes or not, Fiegel knows what he needs to bring when he’s called upon.

“For me, definitely just being the juice guy on the team,” Fiegel said of his role. “Whether I get points or I don’t get points, that’s huge. I’ve been around teams that have juice guys.

“If you can be one of them, that’s huge.”

After a stagnant start Wednesday night for the Bulldogs, the senior forward came into the Class 4A Addison Trail Sectional semifinal against York and provided a spark. He continued to play more minutes than usual, eventually setting up a 3-pointer by Jax Abalos that forced overtime.

Second-seeded York pulled away in the extra session, however, for a 52-44 victory.

Fiegel scored nine points, dished out three assists and added two steals for third-seeded Batavia (21-9). Abalos ended up leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points, all coming on 3-pointers.

AJ Levine topped all scorers with 22 points and Kyle Waltz chipped in with 12 for York (26-7).

Fiegel, who will be heading to Southern Illinois in the fall to play linebacker, finished his basketball career in style by playing big minutes for the Bulldogs in a sectional semifinal.

“He competes,” Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. “He does a lot of good things. You see why he’s valuable to anybody. He’s fearless. He’s a great kid to coach. This game means just as much to him as any football game.

“It’s the same thing. It’s just who he is.”

Batavia trailed 10-3 in the first quarter when Fiegel entered the game. He three points and a steal as Batavia pulled within 10-9 at the break.

“I think anyone on the bench can do it,” Fiegel said. “I played a good game, but I know there are 12 other guys who probably could have done the same thing. That’s the kind of team we are.

“We’re deep. It stinks to end it.”

Things were looking bleak for Batavia in the fourth quarter. York took a 40-31 lead, but the Bulldogs started to claw back into it again. They ended regulation on a 9-0 run to force OT.

“It’s big heart,” Nazos said. “I love these guys. It’s just a great group that’s going to be missed forever.”

The tying three from Abalos was a play the Bulldogs ran a handful of times Wednesday.

“I would dribble the ball and bring the baseline defender up and Jax would go corner,” Fiegel said. “That worked well. We practiced that all week. He knocked down the shot. I just passed the ball.”

The 3-pointer came out of a timeout, with Abalos hearing all about it in the huddle.

“All the coaches told me to stay confident and keep shooting,” Abalos said. “That’s all that was going through my head. It was great to keep my team alive. It was amazing.”

The fact Fiegel had the assist also wasn’t lost on Abalos.

“He always brings energy,” Abalos said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. He’s always positive. He’s always trying to keep you up.”

Big games are nothing new to Fiegel, who routinely played in the spotlight during his football career. He said the sport doesn’t matter, however. It’s how he was raised and where he grew up.

It’s the legacy he hopes this group leaves behind at Batavia.

“That’s the way this town is,” Fiegel said. “It’s just different. They got the win, but we have something in this town that they just don’t have. I think we set a precedent for the kids.

“We’re tough. That’s how it has to be.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.