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Boys Basketball: Stingy defense carries West Aurora past Wheaton North
Updated: February 10, 2012 10:48PM
Sophomore point guard Jontrel Walker scored a career-high 22 points Friday in West Aurora’s 58-38 win at Wheaton North, but defense was the storyline on this night.
“They’ve got some good offensive players,” said West coach Gordie Kerkman, whose team was burned by Falcons senior guard Sam Otto for nine points in the first quarter when it fell behind 13-11.
“But our defense tightened up and we started coming out on their shooters. Otto’s a very good player and he got off to a great start, but we started playing smarter and got our intensity up.”
It showed. Wheaton North, which fell to 6-16 overall and 2-9 in the DuPage Valley Conference, made 60 percent (6-for-10) from the floor in the first quarter but was limited to just 24 percent (9-for-38) over the final three periods as the Blackhawks’ man-to-man improved.
Otto, harassed by West senior Juwan Starks, had just one basket and a pair of free throws after the opening eight minutes to finish with a team-high 13 points.
“We were switching on him most of the time and once we started doing that, we were fine,” Kerkman said. “In that first quarter, sometimes we were switching, sometimes we weren’t.”
The Falcons led 15-13 early in the second quarter on a driving layup by Matt Biegalski at the six-minute mark, but Walker answered with a three-pointer that started a 13-0 West run that would include another trey by Walker and one by Starks (nine points, six rebounds, two assists, block).
Walker opened the game with six straight from beyond the arc and finished 6 of 7 from long range.
“I was just playing within the offense and taking what was there,” he said, after eclipsing his previous high of 21 points earlier this season against Lockport. “I need to thank my teammates for setting good picks for me and playing hard tonight.”
West led 28-17 at intermission after outscoring the home team 17-4 in the second quarter and holding it scoreless for a span of four minutes and 29 seconds.
Wheaton North opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run, sparked by a basket inside from 6-foot-11 junior Andrew Zelis (eight points, six rebounds, two blocks), but West answered with a 15-0 run capped by another Walker trey and the rout was on.
The Blackhawks, who claimed a 38-32 rebounding edge, climb to 19-4 overall and 9-2 in the DVC. The win sets up a showdown with first place on the line next Friday at Naperville North.
Chandler Thomas added eight points and eight rebounds for West, which got five points, five rebounds and four blocked shots from 6-6 junior Josh McAuley. Spencer Thomas added six boards. Brandon Gossett and Jayquan Lee (four rebounds) had six points each.
Kerkman will be named coach of the West team in the McDonald’s All-American game at the United Center March 28 according to a report on ESPN.com. Asked about it, he wouldn’t deny it and just smiled, saying he wasn’t supposed to say anything until the teams and coaches are officially announced Feb. 20.
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