West Aurora advances to Pontiac quarterfinals

PONTIAC - West Aurora had moments of sluggishness Monday evening during its first-round game of the historic Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

"I don't anyone played bad, but as a team I just didn't think we had the fire," West Aurora boys basketball coach Gordie Kerkman said.

But there were enough positives for the Blackhawks to escape Lockport with a 53-40 victory.

The Blackhawks (7-4), the No. 4 seed, will face Oak Park-River Forest in the third quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Marquis Howard and Matt Dunn had respective buzzer-beating 3-pointers to end the first two quarters, and West Aurora hit the Porters with a 13-0 run to start the third quarter.

Tommy Koth spearheaded the Blackhawks' 11-2 advantage in second-chance points in leading both teams with 15 points.

The senior forward was 7-for-11 from the floor and had 5 of his 6 rebounds on the offensive end.

Koth had a tip-in and fed Luis Motola for an easy bucket after grabbing another loose ball on the ensuing possession.

"That's kind of what I like - the dirty stuff," Koth said. "Coach told me before the game (Lockport) looked kind of weak on the offensive boards. (Trying to keep the ball alive) was all I did. I was able to find Luis the one time."

Howard has turned his senior season into an opportunity to escape the long shadow of West Aurora career scoring leader Jontrell Walker.

"He was a great player," said Howard, who scored 10 of his 12 points to jump-start the stagnant first-half West Aurora offense. "Now I'm getting my time to shine."

"They both played well," Kerkman said of Koth and Howard.

Dunn gave West Aurora a 24-17 halftime lead with his 23-footer.

West Aurora then steamrolled Lockport (3-6) with the first 13 points of the third quarter.

Five different players scored during the unanswered run as Lockport was held scoreless for more than seven minutes going back to the second quarter.

"The few things we wanted to clean up (at halftime) were (the Blackhawks') offensive rebounding and taking care of the basketball," Lockport coach Larry Thompson said. "We didn't do either at the start of the third quarter."

Illinois State-bound forward Roland Griffin had all 8 of his points after the intermission.

Lockport shaved its onetime 17-point deficit to 10 points twice in the fourth quarter, but Griffin had a tip dunk and bucket in transition on both occasions.

"We have to play better (against Oak Park-River Forest)," said Howard.

Dunn, the Blackhawks' point guard, finished with 7 points.