West Aurora holds off Bartlett
The length of the West Aurora postgame talk said everything about how the Blackhawks felt about Tuesday's 60-55 home win over Bartlett.
The winning team, which boasts one of the best backcourts in the area in Traevon Brown and transfer Marquise Walker, hashed things out for about 20 minutes after a victory against a gutty Bartlett team that played only one returning starter from a year ago.
"It was pretty intense," West Aurora senior Moshe Rogers of the postgame mood. "We just need to bounce back and play together as a team. It might take a couple of losses to get it through our heads."
Bartlett (3-6, 1-2) held West Aurora (6-2, 3-0) to 5 points in the second quarter to grab a 21-19 halftime lead.
The Blackhawks snapped out of it to a degree in the second half as Walker scored 14 of his team-high 21 points and dished 4 assists, three of which went to senior forward Hezzy Salter. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
"Everybody was tough on each other because we knew that we could have performed better," Salter said of the postgame mood. "We didn't play to the best of our ability. There were little things going on that we could easily fix, but we still pulled out a win and fought to the end of a hard-fought win."
West Aurora outscored the Hawks 21-10 in the third quarter to take a 40-31 lead, thanks to 8 points from Walker, but Bartlett would not go away. The Hawks fell behind by 10 at one point, but they fought their way back in the game behind a game-high 22 points from senior Nick Mansk. The 6-foot-3 senior sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Traevon Brown's steal and assist on Logan Mont's basket with 1:02 left staked the Blackhawks to a 56-51 lead, but a pair of Jack Steunkel free throws and a steal and short jumper by Liam Gallagher drew Bartlett within 56-55 with 19 second to play.
The Hawks trailed 58-55 with 12 seconds left when they ran a play that created an open shot, helped by the fact the West Aurora defender fell down. However, the Bartlett 3-point shooter was whistled for stepping out of bounds before the shot with seven seconds left.
Walker was subsequently fouled and sealed the win with 2 free throws.
West Aurora forced the Hawks to commit 21 turnovers.
"We have to clean that up against this caliber of a team," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We have to find two possessions somewhere. The biggest issue I had was missed layups. They are a good, athletic team and they have guys who can get up vertical, but we have to do a better job of finishing around the rim."
"We just have to be strong around the basket and not worry about it if they block our shot," Mansk added.
Walker said things will get better for the Blackhawks in time.
"When we all get intact and understand each other as a unit, I feel like we're going to be one of the best teams in the state," he said. "Until that time comes, we're under construction. We don't have that much time to do it, so all we can do is keep working and keep trying to get that chemistry in practice."