Boys Basketball: Rockford Auburn rolls by Proviso West

Updated: December 27, 2011 8:36PM

Proviso West made Bryan Ott an offer he could not refuse.

Coming off a Class 4A supersectional appearance, the Rockford Auburn coach happily accepted a chance to play in the Proviso West Holiday tournament.

Funny thing, the host Panthers suffered by comparison. Auburn guard Fred Van Vleet scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists as the Knights ripped Proviso West 75-46 in the holiday tournament Tuesday night in Hillside.

“We came here in the summer of 2010 and nobody knew who we were and we played very well and beat a lot of good teams, and (tournament director) Joe Spagnolo gave us a chance to come here,” Ott said. “If we didn’t have a contract with Elgin last year, we would have been here then.

“We had great competition at Elgin, but Proviso West is a step up from that,” he added.

The Wichita State-bound Van Vleet is considered by many to be the state’s top senior prospect outside of Chicago. “This was a huge honor and a thrill to be able to come here, especially since we know they don’t have that many outsider teams come to this tournament,” he said.

“This is by far going to be the best competition we’ve faced.”

The Knights made an impressive debut, playing a debilitating defensive game that forced 27 Panthers’ turnovers in running out to a 20-4 lead. Van Vleet repeatedly burned Proviso West in transition, using his quick hands to disrupt the Panthers’ offense and score in transition. 

He shot just 3-for-7 from the field but he damaged the Panthers (5-5) at the line, going 16-for-20. The Knights enjoyed a 24-point differential at the free-throw line.

Proviso West’s Joshua Thompson (11 points) and Lawrence Moorr (10 points) engineered a Panther rally, a 13-0 run that extended into the second quarter that pulled the Panthers within 22-18.

LaMark Foote (15 points) scored twice on drives to push Auburn out to a 38-30 lead at the break. The Knights broke the game open by outscoring the Panthers 18-6 in the third quarter. Nylik Cobb scored 10 points and Jaylin Marshall added nine points and 15 rebounds.

Anthony Arceneaux scored nine points for the Panthers.

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