West Aurora holds off East Aurora
There were 219 boys basketball meetings between East Aurora and West Aurora before rookie coach Brian Johnson experienced his first encounter in the storied series.
But the first-year West Aurora coach has first-hand knowledge of the climate as a former assistant to legendary coach Gordie Kerkman to know to expect the unexpected.
"In an East-West game, you never know what's going to happen," Johnson said.
The host Blackhawks opened the Valley portion of their Upstate Eight Conference schedule by holding their archrivals at bay the entire second half.
Caleb Siler converted a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining to seal the Blackhawks' 50-44 victory over the Tomcats Friday night in Aurora.
With the notable exception of sophomore forward Camron Donatlan, the entire West Aurora starting lineup consists of players from its undefeated sophomore team from a year ago.
"It was a very emotional game," Siler said of the packed gymnasium and frenetic environment. "We came out there and played hard."
Receiving contributions from throughout its lineup, the Blackhawks (2-4, 1-0) took their first lead of the game when Travon Avery split a pair of free throws late in the first half.
The game would see-saw through the remainder of the second quarter, but Siler had a bucket right before the halftime buzzer to give West Aurora a 29-27 lead at the intermission.
DaQuan Cross, who led West Aurora with 10 points, had consecutive field goals to open the second half for the Blackhawks.
East Aurora (2-4, 0-1) would seemingly be mired in a 2- to 4-point deficit the entire second half.
But the Tomcats could never forge a tie after the break.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable," Johnson said. "I thought the boys did a great job of staying calm during the game."
Buckets were hard to come by in the second half, and Avery gave West Aurora the largest lead for either team with a steal and dunk in the last two minutes of the third quarter.
But Tomcat guard Michael Stewart hit the second of his two 3-pointers to make it a 39-35 game entering the fourth quarter.
West Aurora, however, would thwart every effort by the Tomcats to forge an equalizer.
Donatlan was limited without a field goal after struggling with fouls and cramps, but his teammates picked up the slack.
"I could tell from (the schools') football (game) that it was going to be packed," DaQuan Cross said. "Our defense brought up our offense tonight. We stayed patient on offense."
"We can't win many games going 3-for-14 (from the free-throw line)," East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries said. "I thought West Aurora played a great game."