AC stymies Westminster
The Aurora Christian boys basketball team has Westminster Christian's number.
Westminster has lost just 7 games dating back to last January with Aurora Christian now responsible for 3 of those losses.
The Eagles beat the Warriors 73-52 on Jan. 12 of last year and subsequently ended Westminster's 2006-07 season with a 62-48 win in a regional semifinal.
Coach Don Davidson's Eagles continued their mastery of the Warriors Tuesday night, dominating them from start to finish to earn a 53-29 Private School League victory in Elgin.
"This is big because we've been struggling lately," said Aurora Christian's Nate Hill, who led all scorers with 14 points. "It feels good to come out and get a blowout here. It's been a while since we beat somebody up."
The Eagles (9-7, 2-3) held Westminster senior forward Joel Benson to 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting, far below his season average of 20.1. Benson grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out with 4:16 left in the game.
"Defensively, I thought we really put the clamps on people," Davidson said. "We felt we could help on Benson. (Senior guard David) Campbell especially was critical as far as helping on Benson, doing a good job of doubling down. After he scored a couple of early baskets, we did a very good job of doubling him every time he caught the ball."
Said Campbell: "That came from good team defense. If I rotated to help, someone else had me. We just played really well as a team and took what coach said to heart."
With Benson's production effectively diminished, the Warriors were unable to find another consistent scoring threat. They trailed 19-10 after a quarter and trailed 31-22 at halftime. Things only spiraled downward for Westminster Christian (13-5, 4-2) following the intermission.
The Warriors were held to 7 points in the second half on 3-of-17 shooting (17.6 percent), and they turned the ball over 10 more times for a game total of 16.
"When a team doubles (Benson) our four-man has to step up," Westminster coach Bruce Firchau said. "And when he did step up, we didn't see him. We didn't get the ball to what 3-point shooters we have with any consistency that they could knock it down and keep them honest.
"They were well-prepared for us tonight. They really had us down pat. Tonight was a lesson in humility."
Joe Redmond sank three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 11 for the Eagles, who also received 9 points from senior T.J. McNelis and 7 from junior Jordan Roberts.
Cory Hodge scored 7 points for the Warriors while Tyler Beachler and Dan Graves finished with 6 points apiece.