West Aurora's offense comes alive in 2nd half

The first half of the Class 4A East Aurora second semifinal was a lesson in offensive patience for West Aurora and York.

But West Aurora was operating on all cylinders after the break.

The Blackhawks were deadly from the perimeter, which only created more opportunities in the paint, Wednesday night in Aurora.

Scoring more points in the third and fourth quarters alone than in the first two combined, West Aurora advanced to its third boys basketball sectional in the last four years with a 66-48 win.

"I think probably the 3-point shots opened it up," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "That gave us separation."

The Blackhawks drained five 3-pointers in the third quarter as part of a 23-point outburst to extend their 21-15 lead into a 44-30 cushion.

Marquis Howard, who had one of the defining games this season with 14 3-pointers against South Elgin to help earn Kerkman a historic 800th victory, had two of the five Blackhawks' 3-pointers in the third.

The first one, which gave West Aurora a 29-29 lead, was from NBA territory.

"That's my shot," Howard said. "Cam (Donatlan) hit a big shot to extend the lead. We got a little more comfortable. When we got stops we just wanted to push the ball."

"He's got range," Kerkman said of Howard. "There's no question about that."

Donatlan, the Blackhawks' prized freshman, came into the game looking to be more of an offensive force.

The forward scored the opening field goal of the game against Naperville North in the Blackhawks' regional semifinals - and did not score again until the second quarter against the Dukes.

But Donatlan opened the second-half scoring with the first jumper from beyond the arc.

"I kind of lost my confidence," Donatlan said. "(On Tuesday) my coach (Dan Batka) told me to keep my left elbow in. I just tried to keep my elbow in."

Tommy Koth, who led West Aurora in both regional victories, hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter in notching all 6 of his points.

But West Aurora did not require huge numbers from Koth after Donatlan (14) and Howard (11) combined for 25 points to augment the team-high total registered from a rampaging Roland Griffin (24 points).

York would come to within single digits twice in the fourth quarter, but the Blackhawks closed the game on a 12-2 run by converting their free throws and scoring easily after the solving the Dukes' pressing defense.

"We got a little complacent," Kerkman said. "The kids bounced back and finished strong."