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West Aurora routs rival by record margin

It was only fitting West Aurora honored Neal Ormond Saturday night.

The iconic local play-by-play broadcaster, who has spent the last 50 years calling West Aurora boys basketball games, described an all-time first.

Jontrell Walker scored 28 points to lead three West Aurora players in double figures as the Blackhawks continued their torrid shooting against archrival East Aurora.

With its 86-51 victory, before a sold out audience at West High, the Blackhawks’ 35-point margin of victory was their largest ever in the history of the rivalry.

The schools met for the 217th time, and West Aurora claimed its 130th career victory in the peerless rivalry.

West Aurora improved to 14-3; East Aurora fell to 4-14.

“They’re playing like one of the best West teams I have seen,” East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries said.

Walker was 8-for-11 from the field, draining a 24-footer on the opening possession to set the tone.

The senior guard scored 14 points in each half as the Blackhawks dominated the game with their 58-percent shooting from the floor (30 of 52) and astonishing 40-11 advantage in rebounds.

“It’s East-West,” Walker said. “It’s a big game. I wanted to put a show on for the fans.”

There were two ties late in the first quarter, but West Aurora seized command in the second quarter.

Jeffries went to a box-in-one on Walker, only to see him still convert a 3-point play and one of his three 3-pointers.

But Roland Griffin, who just received his first Division I scholarship offer from Northern Illinois, was even more menacing to the Tomcats.

The Blackhawks’ standout junior forward did not miss from the field in scoring 11 second-quarter points.

Even more telling, the emergence of an unknown commodity — long a fixture in the storied series — arrived this year in the person of Marquis Howard.

The junior guard, who has seen limited minutes this season, drained all four of his field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.

Howard hit two shots from beyond the arc in the second quarter as West Aurora led 37-22 at the break.

“Coach (Gordie Kerkman) gave me the confidence to shoot the ball, and I just let it fly,” Howard said. “We’re just being patient, moving the ball and getting good shots.”

“The second quarter was the ballgame,” Jeffries said. “That’s when the game got away from us.”

The third quarter was high-combustible offense by both sides.

The Tomcats almost doubled their first-half output with 20 points, but West Aurora was equally unconscious from the field.

West Aurora not only matched the Tomcats’ third-quarter output but also increased its lead by 4 points.

The fourth quarter was simply a coronation as West Aurora was a point shy of a 50-point half in cruising to its third consecutive blowout of East Aurora.

Griffin finished with 20 points for West, while fellow starters Matt Dunn, Tommy Koth and Carleton Griffin combined for 23 more points in barely missing double figures.

Fred Reynolds’ 14 points paced the Tomcats; post Jonathan Villezcas added 13 points.

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