West Aurora advances to consolation finals

PONTIAC - No matter who dons their uniforms, defense has always been the foundation of the West Aurora boys basketball program.

In the consolation semifinals at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Wednesday morning, Niles West was the latest team to become mired in the Blackhawks' collective quicksand. West Aurora advanced to the consolation finals with a 53-39 victory, enjoying considerable pluralities in shots attempted, rebounds, second-chance points and steals.

"I was very pleased with the way we played," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "Even though (Niles West is) not a great team, we beat a pretty good team."

Bryson Hughes' 3-pointer gave West Aurora the lead for good as the Blackhawks limited the Wolves to 6 points in the opening quarter. The lead only swelled in the second quarter; Markus Cocroft played his engineer role with aplomb, single-handedly harassing the Wolves' offense with 5 steals and orchestrating the offense from his point-guard position with a team-high 12 points and 5 assists.

"(Cocroft) is very poised," Niles West coach Fritz Wulfram said. "He keeps his team in check. We didn't handle their pressure very well. It got to us."

Cocroft had back-to-back assists to give West Aurora a 24-14 lead late in the second quarter, and Hughes' second 3-pointer maintained the double-digit spread.

The Blackhawks' 29-20 halftime lead was increased in the opening minutes of third quarter on consecutive putbacks by Juwan Starks and Cocroft.

"We kept up the intensity the whole game," said Hughes, who finished with 9 points. "It really helped that we crashed the offensive boards. It was probably one of our best rebounding games of the year."

The Blackhawks (7-4) enjoyed a 56-39 edge in shot attempts, a 32-24 plurality in rebounds and a 9-point differential in second-chance points. Nine different players scored for West Aurora.

Danny Zahos' 13 points paced Niles West (6-5).