Boys Basketball: Emerging big men to meet at East Aurora

Updated: February 29, 2012 10:22PM

Keep an eye on the men in the middle Saturday in the intriguing local matchup between Oswego East and Waubonsie Valley in the second game of the 2nd annual Ernie Kivisto Hoopfest tripleheader at East Aurora.

Emerging big men, 6-foot-4 Kalmon Stokes of Oswego East and 6-6 junior Bryan Jefferson of Waubonsie Valley, each had big games for their respective teams Tuesday in close losses.

Stokes went head-to-head with Plainfield East’s 6-9 Brian Bennett and put up a double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) in a 56-55 loss to the fifth-ranked Bengals. Jefferson had 16 points and eight rebounds in a 50-48 loss to Neuqua Valley.

“(Stokes) can shoot the ball a little bit and we’re kinda asking him to do a little inside-out,” said coach Jason Buckley of the 8-8 Wolves. “When we get the ball to the post we’re better. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case all year. We’ve got some talented guards, but we can’t fall in love with threes at the expense of the inside game.”

Jefferson did a nice job attacking the basket against Neuqua Valley and needs to continue to develop his short- to mid-range jumper.

“Bryan’s getting better every day,” said coach Steve Weemer of the 13-6 Warriors. “He’s getting stronger and working on some things we want him to work on. He’s a junior, and I tell him I’m hard on him because I’ve got expectations for him. That’s my job, to coach him to get better and he understands that.”

Rest of the field

The cost is $5 for the tripleheader that opens at 4:30 p.m. with Batavia and coach Jim Roberts meeting North Lawndale and coach Luis Thorpe. The Phoenix have been a force in the state playoffs in recent years.

The 7:45 nightcap features struggling East Aurora (2-16) and Waukegan. The Bulldogs are only 9-8, but took sixth-ranked New Trier down to the wire in a one-point loss earlier in the season.

In between the second and third games, East’s 1972 team that finished third in the state tournament will be honored on its 40th anniversary.

Battle Jr. suspended

Oswego East will be without Kenny Battle Jr., who is in the midst of a seven-game suspension for violation of team rules, tonight against Plainfield North and Saturday. He will also miss games against Oswego (Tuesday) and Minooka (Wednesday) next week.

The Wolves have lost four straight but Buckley isn’t down.

“I’m impressed with this team’s resiliency,” he said. “They’ve worked hard and they’re battling. We lost in the last second to a top-five team (in Plainfield East) and the game before that we took (talented) Hinsdale Central to two overtimes. We’re close.”

ACC-Marmion sellout

All tickets for the 1,390-seat Marmion Academy gym have been distributed for Friday’s rivalry game with Aurora Central according to Cadets’ athletic director Joe Chivari.

“In the past, we’ve had it first come, first serve and ended up with a lot of people standing outside who couldn’t get in,” said Chivari, who allotted 376 (27 percent) of the ducats to ACC, exceeding the Suburban Christian Conference requirement of at least 20 percent for visiting fans.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with the sophomore game starting at 6.

Milestone win

Hampshire coach Bob Barnett got his 400th career win Tuesday when his 11-8 team defeated Woodstock 48-33. Barnett, in his 25th season as a head coach, is 400-268. His teams won three regional titles in nine seasons at Hinckley-Big Rock.

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