Fox Valley wrap: Aurora Christian advances

As the seconds wound down in Wednesday night's Class 2A Aurora Christian regional semifinal, Aurora Christian's Joe Redmond did one of the things he does best.

Realizing the designed play wasn't developing as planned, the senior guard slashed and twisted through the lane, creating a scoring opportunity where one hadn't previously existed.

Redmond's runner floated over two Stillman Valley defenders, then slapped the backboard before dropping through the hoop with 2.1 seconds left, giving the Eagles their winning margin in a 56-54 thriller.

No. 3 Aurora Christian will play No. 1 seed Genoa-Kingston for the regional championship Friday night.

"The pick wasn't set as quickly as it should've been, so I took it to the right," Redmond said. "My season was coming down to the last few seconds, and I didn't want to lose."

But it shouldn't have come down to those kind of heroics. The Eagles led the visiting Cardinals 48-28 midway through the third quarter before going into a deep freeze on offense that chewed up a lot of clock, but also took Aurora Christian's intensity with it.

"When they went to the zone, we pulled it back out, and we sure lost the momentum," Aurora Christian coach Don Davidson said.

Stillman Valley fed off the Eagles' sudden lack of aggressiveness, as 5 different Cardinals connected from beyond the arc in the second half.

Long distance shooting by Jake Nicholson and Brennan Hailey fueled an 18-2 Stillman Valley (10-15) run. With 59 seconds left in the game, Nicholson capped the scoring surge with a game-tying 3-pointer.

"(Nicholson and Hailey) are both tremendous 3-point shooters," Stillman Valley coach Billy Lewis said. "This was a tough place to play against a higher seed on their home court, and we showed a lot of heart coming back."

Not much separated the teams throughout the opening quarter, but second chance points helped the Eagles go up, 16-13.

"Coach is always harping about defense, rebounding, and second chance points," said Eric Andersen, who had 9 rebounds.

Aurora Christian's quickness and athleticism was on display in the second quarter. Redmond and Marcus Barnes turned every Stillman Valley possession into an adventure, while Phil Rutherford went on a tear, scoring all 9 of his points in the second quarter.

"We like to run up and down the floor, and we had some key plays in that quarter," Rutherford said.

By halftime, the Eagles led 36-21, and appeared to be in control of a game they would ultimately have to wrestle away in the closing seconds.

Glenbard East 57, West Aurora 49:ŒThe seniors on Glenbard East's boys basketball team have largely been overshadowed this season by the success last year's Rams earned, which included a DuPage Valley Conference title and a deep postseason run.

Sitting with an 11-13 record entering Wednesday's senior night game against West Aurora, the Class of 2008 hoped to make memories of its own.

Using a strong first half both from the outside and in the paint, Glenbard East fought for a hard-earned 57-49 victory over the Blackhawks in Lombard.

Glenbard East (12-13, 7-7) fed off its own collective energy right from the opening tip, taking a 13-7 lead after one quarter while outrebounding West Aurora 9-2.

An emphasis on rebounding along with strong interior play helped jettison the Rams to the early lead.

"We did a great job on the glass. That was probably the difference in the game," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "We held them to one shot, and then at the other end we were able to space the floor and throw it in to (forward Paul) Sanders."

Though quiet in the first quarter, the 6-foot-4 Sanders emerged throughout the second period, racking up 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor to help give the Rams a 26-10 advantage at halftime.

"Every game he's just getting better and better," Miller said of Sanders, who scored a game-high 24 points. "This was obviously the best game he's played so far, and I thought our kids did a good job of getting him the ball at the right times and making good decisions with it."

West Aurora (17-7, 9-5) made a push at the outset of the second half, scoring 18 points in the third quarter. The Blackhawks dented Glenbard East's lead to 30-23 on a Tyler Thompson basket midway through the quarter but were unable to check the Rams offense.

"You knew they were going to come out and shoot the ball better than they did in the first half, and we just talked to our guys about not letting them go on any runs," Miller said.

West Aurora closed within 5 points with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter on a Mike Postuwait layup but could inch no closer.

"We had no offense at all in the first half," Blackhawks coach Gordon Kerkman said. "Second half we got some ball movement, cut our turnovers down … but we dug ourselves a little bit too big a hole in the first half."

-- Matthew McClarey

Girls basketball

Guyett takes leave:ŒBurlington Central girls basketball coach Darlene Guyett will take a one-year leave of absence from her position as the Rockets' head coach.

Guyett, who will continue to teach physical education and wellness at the school, and her husband Tom are expecting their second child next month, a brother for nearly 4-year old Tommy Jr.

"It was a tough decision and it was something my husband and I talked about a long time," Guyett said. "I always tell my kids to honor yourself and trust your intuition and make decisions that are in your best interests.

"This is about family for me. Coaching takes a lot of time and this is one of the times in my life when I have to put my family first."

Guyett just completed her fourth season at Central and is 58-54. This year's team went 19-11 and finished second in the Big Northern East before losing to Huntley in the Class 3A Kaneland regional championship game.

Guyett's 2006-07 team won the BN-East title and set a school record for wins by going 23-6.

"We'll open it up and interview candidates," said BC athletic director Dan Cliffe Wednesday night.

Whoever gets the job can expect the "interim" tag to come with it. Guyett said she intends to return to coaching in June of 2009.

"I haven't talked to my principal about it yet but I would say yes, the new coach will be the interim coach," Cliffe said.

Cliffe said he expects to have the position filled well before summer leagues begin, possibly within a month. -- John Radtke

Hockey

The Illinois Amateur Hockey Association (AHAI) will be participating in the Blackhawk Cup at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.

The Cyclones Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) will host 26 games from Feb. 21-Feb 26. Teams will be competing at the Midget Minor (U16) and Midget Major (U18) Tier II AA levels.

The round robin tournament will begin with games this evening and will conclude with the consolation games on Tuesday, with the majority of games being played Saturday and Sunday.

The winners will advance to the State Championships on March 1-2 at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. For complete schedule information visit www.ahai.org or call the Cyclones at (630) 220-7825.

• The Cyclones Amateur Hockey Association will be holding their 2008 spring hockey registration this Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.

For more information about Cyclones Hockey visit www.cycloneshockey.net. If you have any questions contact the Cyclones hockey director Frank Bisceglie at (630) 220-7825 or hockeydirector@cycloneshockey.net.