West Aurora loses twice at Pontiac

PONTIAC Its hopes for a colossal upset were dashed in the opening eight minutes.

West Aurora faced a daunting task with its quarterfinal date against defending Class 4A boys basketball state champion Simeon on Wednesday morning at the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

The Blackhawks' bid to challenge the Wolverines was fatally compromised in the first quarter; West Aurora started the game off ice cold, missing 13 of its first 15 shots as Simeon rolled to a 16-point lead after one quarter.

West Aurora was more than respectable over the final 24 minutes, but the squad never threatened Simeon in the Wolverines' 64-43 triumph.

"We got to see what a real team looks like," said West Aurora senior guard Brandon Hayes, who led the squad with 12 points on four 3-pointers. "Other than the first quarter, we played right with them. We said we weren't going to come out scared, and that's exactly what happened. Once we finally relaxed, it was a 5-point game (the rest of the contest)."

West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman did not derive the same conclusion.

"Many times when you get a big lead like that, you don't play as hard," Kerkman said.

Kerkman has had some of his most storied squads from the memorable 1984

Class AA state semifinal featuring Kenny Battle and the late Ben Wilson to back-to-back Pontiac finals in 2002 and '03 collide against equally chronicled Simeon teams. The current Wolverine bunch led by super sophomore Jabari Parker is incredibly athletic, interchangeably gifted and intangibly attuned.

"They not only can play, but they know how to play," Kerkman said. "They see the floor so well. They do all the little things, the loose balls, the rebounding. They are so much taller than we were at every position."

Jonathon Dennison had the Blackhawks' only field goals, both coming in the paint, as Simeon galloped to a 20-4 lead after the first quarter.

The Dennison scores were notable as the Wolverines' towering front line forced the Blackhawks into an almost exclusive perimeter attack. The Wolverines dominated the glass, collecting a 41-24 advantage that translated into a 10-point plurality in second-chance points.

But there were bright spots for West Aurora.

Juwan Starks' two quick fouls found the Blackhawks' junior standout on the pines for much of the first half.

He scored all 11 of his points after the break which began with Simeon holding a 29-13 cushion on three 3-point possessions and another long jumper. "We did a great job defensively," Simeon coach Rob Smith said.

Parker led undefeated Simeon (7-0) with 15 points.

Danville 60, West Aurora 53: The Blackhawks had their stay at Pontiac abruptly revoked Wednesday night by a 60-53 loss in the final game of the day the fifth-place semifinal.

West Aurora (6-4) seized an early 20-10 second-quarter lead behind 10 points from Kenny Battle, who finished with a career-high 16 points to pace the squad Danville (6-5) rallied to tie the game at halftime, but West Aurora had its best offensive quarter of the tournament with 20 points in the third.

Reserve Danville guard Ethan Smith hit four 3-pointers after the intermission, however, and the Vikings closed out the game with a 10-3 run after forging the last of seven ties at 50-50.

"We had them on the ropes early," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "We had a 10-point lead, and they were (mentally) down and they were tired. We just stopped playing."

Starks added 11 points in the loss.