York handles West Aurora
Beating West Aurora's boys basketball team on its home court is no easy task.
Employing a suffocating 1-2-2 zone defense, York pulled off the feat Saturday night during its 59-39 nonconference triumph over the Blackhawks in Aurora.
Led by freshman guard Nick Kosich and senior backcourt mate Jack Julian, the Dukes forced 7 turnovers while jumping out to a 19-9 first-quarter advantage - a double-digit lead that they would enjoy the remainder of the night.
"To come over here is always challenging, especially in their first home game," said York coach Vince Doran. "We were able to create some offense with our defense."
Kosich scored 7 points during the Dukes' 12-2 run in the first 5-plus minutes and sophomore guard Angelo Martucci's 3-pointer a few moments later extended the lead to 17-3.
"We were able to take their crowd out of it right away and got off to a great start," said Doran.
"We probably got three or four steals right off the bat that led to easy buckets and we all knocked down shots," said Kosich.
Junior Jordan Gray provided a spark off the bench for the Dukes (5-1) in the second quarter with 7 points and 5 rebounds, including a late basket on a nifty inside move that extended their halftime lead to 35-18.
A late 3-point basket by sophomore Benjamin Young (7 points) enabled the Blackhawks (1-4) to trim the deficit to 40-28 after 3 quarters but the Dukes answered the challenge with a 9-2 run over the first 2 minutes of the final period.
Kosich, who scored a game-high 16 points with 4 steals, opened the fourth quarter with a steal that led to his 3-pointer and stretched the lead to 43-28.
"That was a huge play," said Doran. "It kind of swung the momentum back our way. He doesn't play like a freshman. He has been a great asset to our team already and will continue to be a great player."
While the Dukes shot 59 percent (20 of 34) from the field, the Blackhawks were unable to overcome 33 percent shooting (12 of 36) along with 22 turnovers, spoiling coach Brian Johnson's home debut.
"That 1-2-2 (zone) slows you down," said Johnson. "You really can't get out and run and then they hit a lot of shots. They did a great job of executing their offense. They just kind of carved us up."
Sophomore Camron Donatlan led the Blackhawks with 13 points.
"We're not trying to put in all these unbelievable things," said Johnson. "The defensive concepts are basic man-to-man concepts. It's getting better at it.
"It's being able to deny a guy without getting beat backdoor. It's being able to guard the basketball and contain a man that you're guarding and not reach. Everything starts with defense."