North Lawndale pressures West Aurora
There is no shame in losing to North Lawndale. West Aurora just hopes it can learn from the experience.
Falling 60-50, West Aurora came up short against withering defense of all types at East Aurora’s second annual Ernie Kivisto Hoopfest on Saturday.
Full court man-to-man, traps up top, a variety of zones all executed with rugged, in-your-face aggression — West Aurora saw it all.
“I think whenever you face good competition and maybe have to play a little faster or have to work a little harder it should make you better,” said West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman. “Now, whether it does or not, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”
West Aurora (10-7) hung in behind 23 of 27 free-throw shooting, which covered for making just 13 field goals.
On the other side, North Lawndale (12-10) went to the line just 6 times but patrolled the paint for 27 baskets from 11 different players.
Kerkman compared Lawndale’s defensive intensity to that of Simeon.
“Tonight, we probably got exposed a little bit, but maybe we’ll improve a little bit,” he said. “We’re not going to face too many more teams with this kind of quickness.”
West Aurora, not exactly sluggish, came out in a 2-3 zone which seemed to initially stymie the Phoenix.
Not so, said North Lawndale coach Lewis Thorpe, who had a run of three straight top-three state finishes to his credit including the 2008 Class 2A title.
“We started the game with shooters because we kind of figured they would play a zone, and their shots weren’t falling,” said Thorpe, who subbed in five midway through the first quarter. “The group that came in, they are more a type of group that manufactures points.”
Manufacturing points was difficult for West. Thorpe switched his defenses to confuse the Blackhawks and slow their offensive sets.
The Blackhawks also only got 6 points from their leading scorer, Juwan Starks, 12 under his average. Kenny Battle Jr. scored a team-high 13 points. Friday against Naperville Central he score a career-high 16.
“Just getting to the basket and finishing up high,” Battle Jr. said. “Before, I used to bring the ball down and now I’m finishing up high and strong.”
Trailing 10-8 after the first quarter, West Aurora rallied from a nine-point deficit midway through the second and remained within six points until North Lawndale edged away in the fourth.
Garrett Taylor, the last player off Thorpe’s bench, hit a 3 and converted a pair of layups that Maurice Williams emphasized with a putback dunk for a 54-44 Phoenix lead with 4:52 to play.
Battle Jr., Jonathan Dennison and Starks pulled West Aurora within 56-50 with 3:31 left, but no closer.
Come Feb. 12 in the same building, this experience could benefit West Aurora.
“They play just like East Aurora,” said center Kyle Pilmer. “So hopefully we learned something from it.”