West Aurora routs Naperville Central
West Aurora boys basketball coach Gordie Kerkman couldn't say what pleased him more Tuesday night, his team's offense or defense.
It was like choosing between chocolate cake and a banana split.
West Aurora hit DuPage Valley Conference host Naperville Central with 17-of-23 first-half shooting while holding the Redhawks to 4 of 18 from the floor.
The Blackhawks took a 40-point lead as late as the fourth quarter and in a surprising game that seemed over by halftime, downed Naperville Central 75-40.
"I don't think we've ever shot the ball for a half like we did that first half," said 36-year head coach Kerkman. "And I thought we played pretty good. I was very pleased with our defense. I told our kids at halftime, I don't know if the defense got us going offensively, but it very well could have because I thought we did an excellent job defensively."
West Aurora forward Juwan Starks' 3-point bank shot from the top of the key foreshadowed the onslaught. Starks made four of five 3-point attempts in the first quarter.
Jayquan Lee pitched in a pair of 3s, Jontrel Walker added another and Josh McAuley hit a couple jumpers in the lane.
Remaining a half-game behind 8-1 Glenbard North and Naperville North in the DuPage Valley, West Aurora (16-3, 7-1) led 26-6 after a quarter.
Starks, who scored 21 points before leaving with a twisted ankle in the third quarter, his team up 54-18, had no idea the Blackhawks would start on microwave mode.
"Actually, I think just us having more confidence as a team, having confidence in each other to shoot the ball, or if you have shots open, take it," he said. "We all believe in each other that we can make shots. So they just came, they fell in."
Meanwhile, Naperville Central (12-8, 4-5) had trouble getting the ball inside to 6-foot-8 Nick Czarnowski, fronted by West Aurora's Chandler Thomas with backside help. Two-of-10 3-point shooting in the first half didn't help.
After going 7 of 9 from 3 in the first quarter the Blackhawks operated mainly inside the arc in the second, with the same success. Their 8-of-11 shooting earned a 46-11 halftime lead.
Getting 11 points each by Walker and Lee and 8 apiece by McAuley and Spencer Thomas, West Aurora led 60-26 entering the fourth quarter.
No Redhawks starter scored more than Czarnowski's 5 points. Bryce Kirk scored a team-high 8 and Ryan Antony had 6.
"It got out of hand early, but we kept it even in the second half," said Redhawks senior Ian Lewandowski. "There's one positive you can think of, is keeping it even. It was a tough loss."