W. Aurora fights off Glenbard East

When push came to shove Friday night, West Aurora was just a little stronger than Glenbard East.

Push did come to shove in the Blackhawks' 66-53 victory in Lombard, as the referees kept the foul count low and let two teams fighting for second place in the DuPage Valley Conference go after each other until they called a technical foul on Glenbard East late in the game.

"They were a little stronger inside physically, and we were a little stronger outside physically. So it did even out," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "But they did let it go. They did let it go. And that could have led to some of the altercations at the end. ... I don't think they favored the home team or they favored us, necessarily, they just let the kids play."

A 9-0 run starting midway through the first quarter and into the second put West Aurora in the lead for good, and eventually the margin hit 11 midway through the second. But each time the Blackhawks (12-5, 5-2) hit double digits, Glenbard East (13-4, 5-2) fought back until the Blackhawks' last run.

"They played an outstanding game. They really did," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said about the Blackhawks. "I've got to give a lot of credit to how hard they played. Defensively, they took us out of what we wanted to do early in the game. Once we got our rhythm back we made a couple of runs early in the third quarter and then early in the fourth, but it just took too much energy out of us and we didn't have enough to finish up."

A Zach Miller 3-pointer trimmed the West Aurora lead to 4 points with 5:09 to play, but the Blackhawks responded with another 9-0 run, starting with a pair of 3s from junior D.J. Vaughn, to put the game away.

"It keeps us in the race," Kerkman said of the win. "It's got us up tied with Glenbard for second place. We're only (2 games) out. We've got to hope that somebody can get Naperville Central and that we get them. We really can't afford a letdown either. ...

"We beat a good team at their place tonight," said Kerkman, calling it the Blackhawks' best all-around game of the season. "Hopefully, it'll be a springboard for us to carry us down the road."

Freshman Juwanza Starks led West Aurora with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and Jamal Blackmond added 14. Senior guard Markus Cocroft was held to 5 points but dished 9 assists.

Zach Miller drained six 3-pointers to lead the Rams with 18 points. Lee Skinner added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Sanders had 10 points and 3 blocks.