Panthers fall to W. Aurora
Maybe the trampoline could have helped Glenbard North in Friday's loss to a West Aurora team that brought its "A" game.
With the Chicago Bulls' Benny the Bull and his trampoline team present for a halftime dunking show, the Blackhawks won 66-46 in a DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball game in Carol Stream.
"Coach told us to go out and play as hard as we can, to show the DVC that we're not just a contender," said West Aurora senior guard Markus Cocroft. "We want to win it."
The Blackhawks (5-3, 2-1) led 29-14 at halftime but broke the game open in the third quarter against Glenbard North.
"We were patient, and our defense has really been strong lately," said West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman. "We only gave up 20 (points) in the first three quarters."
The Blackhawks got double-digit scoring from Cocroft, Juwan Starks and Jamal Blackmond, but D.J. Vaughn and Garrett Wells chipped in 8 points apiece to lead a balanced offensive night.
"Coach has been telling us to be patient, and that's what we did today," Cocroft said. "We tried to push it, but when we didn't have the open shot we were patient.
"A defense gets tired when you move the ball a lot, and that's what we did today."
Blackmond started the game's scoring with a 3-pointer and another quick jump shot before a 3 from the Panthers' James Fleming and a putback by Evan Watkins cut West Aurora's early lead to 2 points.
The Blackhawks led 13-10 after a quarter but then built a lead with a 16-4 scoring edge in the second.
Despite giving up second-chance points and struggling to hit its shots in the second quarter, Glenbard North only trailed by 15 points at halftime.
"We missed 8 free throws in the first half, and when you don't cash in on that, it's a letdown," said Panthers coach Joe Larson. "We were down 15 at half, but I didn't think we necessarily played that bad.
"West Aurora defended and executed well, and we didn't do some of the little things."
Fleming led Glenbard North with 18 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. The Panthers finished 3 of 17 from the free-throw line.
It was the third quarter that spelled doom for the Panthers, as the Blackhawks earned a 19-6 scoring edge in taking a 48-20 lead into the final eight minutes.
"Our rebounding was better, and we pretty much improved in all phases of the game tonight," Kerkman said.
"I think Markus pretty much controlled the game from the point position, Jamal got us off to a good start, but it was very much of a team effort tonight."