W. Aurora tops East in 2 OTs

All the ingredients for yet another classic between West Aurora and East Aurora were in place, and the teams produced another barnburner to match the frenzied elements.

The deafening, 4,000-plus capacity crowd in the 212th edition of one of the oldest boys basketball rivalries in the state added one of many subplots that are inextricably connected to the rivals' peerless legacy.

When it was over, East Aurora sophomore guard Ryan Boatright, who led all players with 19 points, was unable to find the range with a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

With its dramatic 66-64 victory in double overtime, West Aurora ended the Tomcats' 12-game winning streak Saturday night at East High.

West Aurora improved to 11-5.

The decades-old ritual for identifying otherwise obscure players to come to the forefront emerged once again; West Aurora senior Bryson Hughes, who led the Blackhawks with 15 points, scored off a feed from Jamal Blackmond with a minute and 36 seconds remaining in the second extra session to give the team breathing room.

"It's been my dream since I was a little boy," said Hughes, on performing above expectations in the intense neighborhood rivalry. "I never knew it was going to be my turn. I had been struggling but put it together tonight."

East Aurora (12-3) trailed for extended portions throughout regulation, only to seemingly seize command when Jamar Shepard scored to extend the Tomcats' lead to 51-47 with less than four minutes to play.

But Blackmond answered at the other end, and the Blackhawks' point-guard dynamo, senior Markus Cocroft, converted a pull-up jumper with 2: 17 left.

Tyronne Carey then pushed the Blackhawks' mini-blitz to six straight with a field goal, and Blackmond appeared to give the Tomcats the dagger with a twisting drive with less than a minute to play.

But his layup attempt spun off the rim, and East Aurora standout junior Will Brown, hampered all night with foul problems, hit a one-handed runner to knot the score at 53-53.

Both teams had chances to win in regulation, and Carey sent the game into a second overtime, tied at 58-58, when he trumped Boatright, who scored all five of the Tomcats' points in the first overtime, with a putback.

"I thought (Boatright) played a heck of a game," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said.

But Cocroft and his indispensable leadership proved the difference in the second extra session; the guard triggered Hughes' key field goal with a strip that Blackmond recovered.

Cocroft ended with 12 points for West Aurora.

"He has so much energy that he never runs of out of gas," Kerkman said of his three-year starter.

"(West Aurora has) no superstars," East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries said. "(Cocroft) is the ultimate team player, and the rest of the guys play in the system."

Juwan Starks' 11 rebounds anchored the Blackhawks' 39-29 plurality on the glass.