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Sports
Defense wins championship : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisDefense wins championship
| After tight first quarter, West Aurora uses 11-0 run to take control in regional final
| by Kristin Sharp
| 3/8/2012
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West Aurora head boys' basketball coach Gordie Kerkman didn't bring any surprises into last Friday's Class 4A Oswego Regional championship game.
The Blackhawks relied on their defense, and West Aurora cruised to a 73-56 victory over the host and12th-seeded Oswego to win their first regional plaque since 2006.
"Our kids were fired up and ready to go," Oswego head coach Kevin Schnable said. "We did a lot of uncharacteristic things tonight. Give credit where it's due. West proved the theory of defense wins championships. Their defense took us out of our comfort zone and took away our game plan. Our best offense is a defensive stop and we didn't get enough of them."
West Aurora (23-5) was witness to Oswego's 65-53 upset win over No. 5 Naperville North - winner of the DuPage Valley Conference - in the Feb. 29 regional semifinal, so the Blackhawks weren't looking past the Panthers and into this week's East Aurora Sectional.
"We haven't won a regional title in awhile," Kerkman said. "We didn't look ahead at all. We saw Oswego on Wednesday night and they're a good basketball team. I was surprised at the score, to be honest with you. They're very well coached."
On Tuesday, West Aurora faced No. 1 Plainfield East and defeated the Bengals 58-53 in overtime to advance to Friday's sectional championship game against the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Downers Grove South and Metea Valley. Results of that game were unavailable at press time.
Last Friday, Oswego junior Elliot McGaughey scored four quick points to get the Panthers out to a 6-2 lead over the Blackhawks, but West Aurora junior Josh McAuley's basket put West Aurora out to a 12-8 lead midway through the period.
Junior Miles Simelton scored from beyond the three-point arc with 2:56 left in the first quarter and McGaughey (12 points) followed up one minute later with a field goal before West Aurora senior Juwan Starks (13 points) capped off the period with a basket as the Blackhawks led 17-13.
The game changed quickly in the second quarter. West Aurora's stifling defense kept Oswego scoreless for the first four minutes of the period while the Blackhawks went on an 11-0 run to take a 28-13 lead.
"I thought it was our defense that got us going," Kerkman said. "I thought we played pretty good defense in the first quarter, but the tempo was up there so we gave up a few more points. Our defense in the second quarter forced some turnovers and we held them to seven points. We were able to maintain our offensive intensity."
Oswego (18-11) finally broke the streak when McGaughey reached the basket, but West Aurora continued to add to its lead. Junior Jayquan Lee (15 points) scored his second three-point basket of the game late in the period to put West Aurora ahead 33-16. Oswego closed out the first half with baskets by senior Ryan West and junior Thomas Wilder to trail 36-20 at halftime.
"We thought coming in we needed to guard hard and shut down Starks and (Jontrel) Walker. We had to win the battle of the boards. We needed to control the ball. We needed to make our free throws and our layups; it jus didn't happen tonight," Schnable said. "It was not our night. They made it their night. They're well-coached and their best players stepped up tonight."
West Aurora opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run, which prompted an Oswego timeout with the Panthers now trailing 43-22. Oswego had an opportunity for four free-throw baskets, but did not score an offensive basket until West (21 points) drove into the lane with 4:29 to play.
"We didn't want to give up any three's, but we didn't want them in the lane either," Kerkman said. "I thought we did a pretty good job with that."
West, who scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter, received an inside pass from McGaughey for a 49-30 score, but West Aurora knocked in four more points before Wilder's three-pointer with 2:21 on the clock.
West completed a traditional three-point play with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter and Oswego trailed 59-36 at the start of the fourth quarter.
"The worst part about tonight isn't that we lost; it's the seniors," Schnable said. "Ryan and I have been through a lot together. How many kids can say they've played in three regional championships? That's what he's been able to do. I'm going to have to take a look at program history, but he could leave here as our winningest player of all time."
He played (Friday) like he didn't want it to end. I can't say enough about what the other guys did, being our practice players. That's the worst part about it right now."
Wilder scored seven of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-point basket with 3:19 left in the game to cut West Aurora's lead under 20 points, 68-50, as the Blackhawks continued to maintain their distance on the scoreboard.
Both teams made player substitutions in the final two minutes before West Aurora hoisted the regional plaque.
"They're nasty defensively," Schnable said. "They just kept us in front. Our kids are quick, but so are they. We were fired up and we believed. The team in the other locker room had a different agenda."
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