West Aurora rolls West Chicago
Juwan Starks’ first-quarter bookend 3-point field goals framed a near-flawless performance by West Aurora Friday night.
The Blackhawks converted 9 of their 11 field-goal attempts in the opening quarter and had putbacks on their two misses in DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball action against West Chicago.
The Wildcats never recovered from the initial West Aurora onslaught — which featured the first 11 points of the game — in dropping a 66-34 decision in Aurora.
Any fears West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman had of his squad looking past the Wildcats with the 214th meeting with archrival East Aurora Saturday night were quickly eased.
“You’re always concerned that you’re looking ahead,” Kerkman said. “I know I was, but you have to when you have games on back-to-back nights. You have to be prepared to play both.”
Starks, the Blackhawks’ junior scoring leader, opened the game with a 3-pointer, and West Aurora (13-8, 8-3) made it first five shots while West Chicago (4-18, 0-10) missed an equal number to start the contest.
When Starks’ turnaround 3-pointer found its mark with two seconds to play in the opening quarter, West Aurora was off to the races with its 21-6 lead.
It had all the trademarks of the Blackhawks’ pedigree: pressure defense, offensive patience and unselfish play.
West Aurora had assists on five consecutive possessions at one point in the quarter, and West Chicago could only manage 5 field goals in the first half.
“That’s what West Aurora is known for,” West Chicago coach Kevin Baldus said. “They have a good offensive system of balance.”
Brandon Hayes and Jontrell Walker ignited the West Aurora offense to give the squad a commanding 39-15 lead at halftime.
Hayes, who had game highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds, was active from the start; Walker is emerging in his own right as the freshman scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter.
“We just knew that once we got on top of them that we could keep them down,” Hayes said. “I told (Walker) to go into the game and shoot (the ball). I didn’t want to waste too much energy. (But) I did try to hustle as much as I could.”
Hayes’ play was infectious as his intangibles were copied by many of his teammates, and nowhere was it more evident in the Blackhawks’ 12 offensive rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Starks was the third West Aurora player in double figures with 10 points.
Jonathan Dennison added nine more as 12 players scored in all.
Justin Mundt and Dylan Hedmark led West Chicago with 12 and 9 points, respectively.
“We played better in the second half,” said Baldus.
More than 4,000 fans are expected tonight at East High as the Blackhawks seek a fourth straight win against the Tomcats.
“It’s the biggest game of the year,” said Hayes. “We’ve been looking forward to it since the summer.”