W. Aurora blows out Glenbard N. with 40-13 blitz

Gordie Kerkman was not overly thrilled with how his club started its game Friday night.

"I didn't think we got out of the blocks real fast like I thought we would," the West Aurora boys basketball coach said.

Evan Watkins' three-point play put visiting Glenbard North within a point of West Aurora late in first quarter, but it was as close as the Panthers would come the rest of the way. The Blackhawks, with Markus Cocroft as their chief conductor, blitzed the Panthers with a 40-13 run over the next two-plus quarters to fashion a convincing 66-40 DuPage Valley Conference victory in Aurora.

West Aurora improved to 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the league; Glenbard North is 7-13, 5-5.

Cocroft ran the Blackhawks' offense with his customary aplomb, scoring 12 points, assisting 8 other field goals and spearheading the defense with 4 steals.

"The coaches try to tell me to set the tempo," Cocroft said. "That's what we try to do: keep the intensity up the whole game. I just try to set my team up real well."

Malcolm Graham, one of three West Aurora players in double figures with 10 points, scored five seconds before the first-quarter buzzer to give the Blackhawks an 18-10 lead after one. The Blackhawks' duplicated the spread in the second quarter to take a 36-20 lead at the break. West Aurora committed only 3 first-half turnovers and had assists on 12 of its 17 field goals.

Cocroft was the architect of the Blackhawks' near-flawless ballhandling, finding freshman Juwan Starks for easy scores three times in the opening half. Starks tied Cocroft for game-high scoring honors with 12 points.

Cocroft, a three-year starter, certainly attracted the eyes of the two coaches.

"(Cocroft) is a very good point guard," Glenbard North coach Joe Larson said. "He knows how to play the position, a very impressive leader as well."

"He does a great job," Kerkman said. "Plus, the kid (James Fleming) he was guarding is a great offensive player."

Glenbard North had few options to counterattack the Blackhawks' trademark applications of pressure defense and offensive unselfishness. Ten of the Panthers' 11 players who played scored. But none reached double figures or tallied more than twice from the field.

Fleming and Watkins led the way with 8 and 7 points, respectively. Fleming opened the second half with a score, but West Aurora responded with a 14-point unanswered burst to take a commanding 50-22 lead.