Saints suffer rough night at E. Aurora
Everyone knows there's no better place in the area to watch a high school basketball game than East Aurora's storied gymnasium.
But just how much is that home court advantage worth to the Tomcats?
Try 20 points, at least from St. Charles East's perspective.
Two weeks ago the Saints played a competitive game against the Tomcats for 32 minutes at St. Charles East's Thanksgiving tournament before losing 56-52.
Thursday in Aurora it was an entirely different story. The Tomcats gave their fans plenty to cheer about, hitting eight 3-pointers, forcing 24 turnovers and converting one easy layup after another in a 78-54 victory.
And East Aurora (5-2, 2-0) did it without its best player, sophomore Tramell Weathersby who is suspended for disciplinary reasons. It didn't matter, as the Tomcats outscored the Saints 26-12 in the third quarter to extend their 7-point halftime lead to 21.
"East Aurora feeds off energy at home and we didn't make enough plays in that third quarter so they had the energy the entire quarter," St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said.
East Aurora starters Weathersby and Andrew Dockery both missed last weekend. Dockery, a 6-foot-5 junior, returned Thursday and scored 16 points off the bench. The Tomcats bench outscored St. Charles East 34-5.
"It's an energetic crowd here," East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries said. "The kids love playing here."
When East Aurora senior Ryan Hayden swished his fifth 3-pointer of the night, and second straight to start the third quarter, the Tomcats' P.A. man exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!"
Clodi was saying something else, especially after making Hayden a point during halftime and then seeing him get wide open for the two quick 3-pointers.
While Hayden was hitting the 3-pointers on one end, the Saints (2-5, 0-2) turned the ball over twice on their end, and a manageable 7-point deficit was suddenly 13.
"We talked about it," Clodi said. "We lost him and he knocked them down and that was it.
"You go from 7 to 13 in four possessions. That's frustrating to start that way. It's disappointing. That's the most disappointing thing, to not have a chance in the fourth quarter."
Hayden led East Aurora with 17 points. Freshman Ryan Boatright, who committed to USC this summer, added 10.
The Tomcats shot a blistering 61 percent from the field (31 of 51), with many of their baskets coming on layups.
One sequence summed up the Saints night. The Saints forced a turnover and found Collin Pryor for a dunk, only to see the Tomcats race down the court for a layup five seconds later.
"We created that opportunity by hitting our outside shots early," Jeffries said. "Ryan Hayden, him extending the lead, that forced them to gamble more. We moved the ball well and got easy shots."
Pryor scored the Saints' first 8 points and finished with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Saints turned the ball over 30 times in their Upstate Eight opener last week against Neuqua Valley and had 24 more against East Aurora.
"Immense problem," Clodi said of the turnovers. "We have to value the basketball.
"But again you have to credit East Aurora. I keep telling people I think they have a chance to win the state title in two years. This isn't even their year. That's how talented they are, and Weathersby didn't even play tonight. We think we are a good basketball team but they can make you look sick."