West Aurora starts fast, beats Batavia
It's really hard to beat West Aurora's boys basketball team by starting a game missing the first 11 shots.
Capping four games at Batavia's 22nd annual Jim & Sylvia Roberts Night of Hoops, the Bulldogs trailed 12-0 before Canaan Coffey got the home team on the scoreboard with 2:08 left in the first quarter.
Showing no letup, West Aurora won the nonconference nightcap 68-51 despite Coffey's game-high 27 points and six 3-pointers and 11 points from guard Kamontez Thomas.
Blackhawks guard Marquis Howard scored 24 points, Roland Griffin added 19 points and 9 rebounds and Reggie Jordan recorded 9 assists.
"The last three games we've played our defense has really started off tough," said West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman. "Glenbard East had 8 points at halftime last night. I thought we played with that same kind of intensity tonight, too."
West Aurora (14-6) didn't only play defense, it found the open man in the half-court or beat the Bulldogs in transition. The Blackhawks shot 29 of 43 from the floor, 67 percent, while forcing Batavia into a still-manageable 12 turnovers. West Aurora turned the ball over just 9 times.
"Reggie Jordan, he's a heck of a passer," said Howard, who scored 20 points and a pair of steals in the second and third quarters. "Him and Matt Dunn, our point guard, they do a good job of getting us going on offense."
The 6-foot-7, Illinois State-bound Griffin got West going with a pair of 3s high on the left wing, plus a fluid reverse layup. Jordan and Dunn followed with lay-ins for a 12-0 lead with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter.
Coffey finally answered with a 3 from the left wing. He followed with two more 3s including one deep in the left corner, just inside of the first-quarter buzzer, converting Tyler Lovestrand's 20-foot pass from the other side of the basket.
"We just need to come out strong and then go from there," Coffey said. "We can't let teams get the advantage on us because that hurts us later on in the game. Sometimes we say second half is what kills us but really it's the first half."
A 20-point second quarter dominated by transition baskets gave West Aurora a 34-21 halftime lead. The Blackhawks kept up the full-court defense in the third quarter and though Coffey paced an 18-point quarter for Batavia, Griffin, Howard, Tommy Koth and Camron Donatlan turned steals into easy baskets.
Batavia (13-12) climbed within 55-44 with 5:53 left to play on a Chasen Peez putback and 2 Thomas free throws only to have West Aurora push it back to 59-44 on two Donatlan layups. From there the Blackhawks worked the clock.
"They do a lot of things well," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos. "They shoot the ball well, they're not just Roland Griffin. They disrupt you offensively just enough to make you uncomfortable."