Thompson leads West's charge
It was No. 211 in the unparalleled series, and West Aurora showcased its traditional weapons to stymie its cross-town arch foe.
Before a frenzied standing-room-only crowd at West Aurora on Saturday night, the Blackhawks overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to overtake East Aurora down the stretch.
Three-year starter Tyler Thompson, playing his first home game of the year after missing three weeks with a broken finger, returned to lead the Blackhawks' 60-50 come-from-behind boys basketball victory.
"This is a huge, emotional game," said Thompson, who collected game-high totals of 19 points and 13 rebounds. "People from Aurora understand how important this game is. We wanted to play West Aurora basketball."
One year after an uncharacteristically poor season in which they barely finished above .500, the Blackhawks enter the famed Pontiac Holiday Tournament this Thursday with a perfect 10-0 record.
East Aurora fell to 5-4 in defeat.
The Tomcats were in control for much of the opening three quarters, building a 27-16 lead midway through the second quarter as guard Ryan Hayden hit one of his four 3-pointers to conclude a 9-3 East Aurora burst.
But offensive rebounding kept the Blackhawks within striking distance, and Thompson had 11 points, including three putbacks, in the second to trim the East Aurora lead to 35-29 at the break.
"We didn't run our offense in the first half," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said.
After allowing 23 points in the second quarter alone to the Tomcats, the Blackhawks' defensive prowess once again paved the way for another stirring comeback in the fabled series.
West Aurora was as stingy as a misers' Christmas party in the second half, surrendering only 4 field goals as the final two quarters.
Corbin Spearman tipped-in a Marquis Stewart miss to give West Aurora its first lead of the game at 38-37, and Stewart returned the favor moments later when he scored off a mid-court theft to give the Blackhawks the lead for good entering the fourth.
Theo Hicks, Thompson and Spearman scored in succession to give West Aurora breathing room at 47-40, but another Hayden 3-pointer and free-throw efficiency brought East Aurora to 51-49 with two-plus minutes remaining.
The long-documented penchant for unheralded players coming to the forefront struck once again, however, as Stewart scored on consecutive layups to up the West Aurora lead to six.
"They were overplaying the passing lanes on the out-of-bounds play," Stewart explained of his late collaboration with backcourt mate Markus Cocroft.
"Markus gave me a look of 'Go to the basket.'"
Stewart did just that and scored an uncontested deuce with a minute left; the Blackhawks proceeded to seal the game with free throws.
"West Aurora turned it up," East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries said. "Tyler Thompson was a difference-maker tonight. He picked the right time to come back."
Hayden and Tramell Weathersby led East Aurora with 12 points each.