Blackkawk seniors remember their good times

He was the last link to the West Aurora boys basketball dynasty.

Between the start of its state-championship run in 1999 to 2006, the Blackhawks were an astonishing 194-21 with four appearances in the former Class AA Elite Eight, seven consecutive DuPage Valley Conference championships and a home-winning streak that lasted more than six years.

Friday night in the aftermath of the Blackhawks' 62-53 Class 4A regional-championship loss to Neuqua Valley, Wildcats coach Todd Sutton realized his south Naperville program had recorded a benchmark victory.

"Everybody knows that West is best," Sutton said. "They're the elite program of the western suburbs."

For Tyler Thompson, taking off his West Aurora uniform for the final time was not easy.

"I've had some great memories that I'll remember for the rest of my life," said the 6-foot-5 forward who was a starter on the Blackhawks' Elite Eight squad two years ago. "Even though it was my sophomore year and I'm a senior now, the game at Peoria was a great experience."

The end result did not auger well when on the Blackhawks' opening two possessions, Thompson had his shot blocked and a field goal negated by a charging call.

Neuqua Valley (23-7) took a lead it would never relinquish late in the opening quarter, but Thompson remained upbeat despite early foul woes.

Thompson scored 6 of his team-high 15 points during a

personal run in the second quarter to keep the Blackhawks (18-8) within striking distance, and the Quincy-bound three-year starter was still plugging away when the Wildcats extended their cushion to double digits in the second half.

"I don't think we played a bad game," Thompson said. "We just couldn't pull it off."

Marquis Stewart and Theo Hicks also played their final games for West Aurora Friday night in Villa Park, and their experiences offered different sets of circumstances.

Stewart, returning from a five-game suspension for violation of the athletic honor code, scored 14 points.

"We could have had them at the end," said Stewart.

"(Neuqua Valley) pressured the ball harder than we expected."

Hicks, on the other hand, had to live up to the unrealistic expectations of duplicating the exploits of his father, Matthew, who set the single-season record for points for West Aurora before a brilliant collegiate career at Northern Illinois.

"It wasn't as bad as last year," Hicks said of the inevitable comparisons. "I thought I had a pretty good senior year."