W. Aurora's 'D' does it once again
That Jamal Blackmond sure is a greedy one.
It wasn't enough that the West Aurora senior helped stymie Lake Park into a miserable first quarter Saturday night in Aurora. The Lancers missed all 8 shots from the field, falling behind 11-1 after one quarter on their way to a 49-32 loss.
Nope, holding Lake Park to a single first-quarter point wasn't enough.
"We'd have liked to get a zero," Blackmond said.
If it wasn't for a free throw from Matt Drufke with 28 seconds left in the quarter, that's just what the Blackhawks would have done.
"I was kind of nervous there," Lancers coach Cray Allen said. "I knew we weren't shooting well and all of a sudden I looked up there with a minute left and we still have zero."
A night after keeping Naperville North to 37 points, West Aurora (4-3) did even better to complete a 2-0 weekend.
"I thought our kids played very good defense last night and it gave them a little confidence at defensive end that they can really shut people down," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said.
Playing again without leading scorer Danny Baylis, Lake Park (3-5) lost its fourth straight, a streak that coincides with Baylis going down with a bum ankle. Allen said he hopes to have his sharpshooter back by Christmas.
West Aurora didn't exactly shoot lights out, but it had plenty of room for error thanks to its defense. After missing their first five shots, Blackmond got West Aurora on the board.
It was the start of another balanced effort by the Blackhawks. Freshman Juwan Starks came off the bench to score 11 points, Malcolm Graham added 10, and Markus Cocroft, Bryson Hughes and Kyle Pilmer all added 6.
"That's the way I like it," Kerkman said. "That is pretty much our offensive philosophy."
Cocroft didn't' score until the fourth quarter, but his six points came just after Lake Park made its best charge. Trailing 21-9 at halftime, the Lancers got as close as 33-27 early in the fourth quarter before Cocroft scored twice - on assists from Blackmond and Graham - to ignite a 9-0 run that put Lake Park away.
"With a go-to player guys tend to stand, but with us being balanced everyone is moving and contributing offensively and defensively," Blackmond said.
Without Bayliss, the Lancers hit just 11 of 42 (26 percent) shots from the field, 6 of 11 at the free-throw line and turned the ball over 17 times. Antioho Lucas led with 8 points and 12 rebounds.
"We don't screen very well," Cray said. "It's not really our shooting it's that we don't get open looks because we aren't physical enough to screen people. We've got to go back to the drawing board a little and take care of that."