South Elgin cruises past West Aurora
South Elgin began its busiest stretch of the boys basketball season with an emphatic tone Friday night.
Relying on a relentless defense along with balanced scoring, the Storm (9-7, 3-1) extended its winning streak to a season-high 4 with a convincing 63-41 Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division triumph over West Aurora (3-9, 1-3) in South Elgin.
After the Blackhawks pulled within 6 at 40-34 on an inside basket by sophomore Camron Donatlan (team-high 18 points and 4 steals) early in the fourth quarter, the Storm pulled away down the stretch thanks to a 23-4 surge that included 13 points from reserves Damien Young, Justin Howard, Julian Lynch and Cameron Nylec.
"Everybody played well together," said Storm coach Jim Cook. "That's what we've been telling them that as long as you play well together you'll be fine. When you don't do things together, things will fall apart.
"Today, everybody played well together. It's big for us."
South Elgin received significant contributions from 11 different players, led by 6-3 senior Quintin McClundon's 10 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists, while limiting the Blackhawks to 32 percent field-goal shooting (16 of 50).
"That's one thing Coach (Cook) really wants us to do is to get down to playing good defense," said McClundon. "Coach is always on us about defensive help and communication."
West Aurora, which never led, also struggled at the free-throw line (7 of 17) and committed 25 turnovers while dropping its fourth consecutive game.
The Storm outscored the Blackhawks 27-10 in the fourth quarter.
"That escalated quickly," said Blackhawks coach Brian Johnson. "I think it was 32-29 (midway through the third quarter) and the next thing you knew it ballooned up to 10 and then all of a sudden it was 20. They were just layup-layup-layup. They capitalized on every turnover.
"I can't remember a game that I've been a part of where I've seen the score balloon up that quickly. Credit to them - they stepped up when they needed to step up. It wasn't like one guy was doing all the work for them. It was multiple guys and multiple efforts on their part."
Anthony Lynch scored 9 points for the Storm while Howard and 6-9 center Tyler Hankins added 8 points apiece.
Hankins, however, suffered a leg injury during a collision with West Aurora's Benjamin Young early in the third quarter and did not return.
"Hopefully he can play (Saturday)," said Cook, whose team plays a pair of games at the Burlington Central MLK Tournament Saturday. "It's tough but if they play like they did tonight, we'll be fine."
DaQuan Cross added 12 points and 8 rebounds for West Aurora.
"I think the boys are upset and they're drained," said Johnson. "We've got two games (Saturday) and two games Monday so we've got to recover quickly, clear our minds, and focus on getting better."