Griffin, West Aurora dunk York
It was hard to specify Roland Griffin's most spectacular dunk.
There was the third-quarter alley-oop pass from West Aurora point guard Reggie Jordan, a little off target, that the 6-foot-6 forward gathered and slammed with authority.
And then, out of a fourth-quarter timeout Griffin drove the lane, rose and hammered the basketball windmill-style.
The Illinois State recruit pounded a less mind-blowing first-quarter tomahawk, yet these are mere style points. They all count and particularly in a 45-point second half the Blackhawks had more of them, beating York 66-48 in Wednesday's Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinal.
"Especially when you dunk it brings out the energy of the crowd, the Rowdies. It just turns up," said Griffin, who scored a team-high 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Dukes guard Jayvon Thomas led all players with 31 points, 24 in the second half.
"We just play better defense and overall the team played better," Griffin said, and that'll be tested in Friday's sectional final when No. 6 seed West Aurora (21-8) plays No. 4 Hinsdale Central (23-6).
"I was probably mostly concerned with (York's) style of play," said West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman, up to 804 career wins. "They're very patient. I just saw them play once and that was against Benet, and I don't think Benet challenged them on the perimeter quite as much as we did."
That was Kerkman's key to a third quarter that saw the Blackhawks and No. 7 seed York (18-13) score more points, 38, than in an entire first half West Aurora led 21-15. York led 2-0 on a pair of free throws by 13-point scorer Luke Libert, but never led again.
Third-quarter 3s by freshman Camron Donatlan and Marquis Howard, two by Tommy Koth and another from Howard, helped West Aurora enter the fourth quarter leading 44-30.
Jordan said York's 1-2-2 zone defense, with the quick Thomas up top, didn't startle the Blackhawks.
"We really practice all the time against it," he said. "We always need somebody flashing to the middle anytime they trap, so somebody should be there."
Behind Thomas' 14-point fourth quarter and help from Libert and Jack Julian's steal and spin move York pared a 15-point deficit to 54-46 on Thomas' up and under layup with 2:52 left to play.
Then came a York offensive foul and Griffin's windmill dunk, which seemed to signify the end for the Dukes, who achieved a program first with three straight regional titles.
"I thought it was possible," Dukes coach Vince Doran said of his team's playoff run. "You always think that way as a coach. But I certainly feel like our kids overachieved this year and achieved great things. Those seniors, they were a big part of the success that's going on. I'm proud to have coached them."