Donatlan's career-high 31 carries West Aurora over South Elgin

The final box score of the Upstate Eight Conference Valley boys basketball game would apparently show Camron Donatlan to be a one-man operation against South Elgin.

But Jared Crutcher was equally crucial to West Aurora during its 64-46 victory over the Storm.

Like Donatlan, a junior, Crutcher fundamentally changed the course of the game in the opening half with 4 of his 5 game-high blocked shots to carry the Blackhawks' defensive effort in the opening two quarters.

After spotting the Storm the first 5 points of the game on its opening two possessions, the Blackhawks unleased a 20-2 run Friday night in Aurora.

South Elgin (8-6, 1-3) never came within single figures again as Donatlan, displaying his remarkable athleticism, carried the West Aurora offense by torching the Storm for 31 points.

"That's a career high," said Donatlan, who thrilled the home crowd with three 3-pointers and four one-handed dunks - two with each hand.

But it was Crutcher who altered the game with 3 second-quarter blocks; the forward grabbed the subsequent rebound on all three occasions.

"I just rotate and play help defense a lot," said Crutcher, who augmented Donatlan with 10 points. "I work on my defense all the time, consistently. That's my game."

"No. 10 (Crutcher) was a force inside," South Elgin coach Brett Johnson said. "He didn't let us get any good shots. You can't score if you can't get inside."

West Aurora limited South Elgin to 10 points over the last 14-plus minutes of the first half to take a 29-15 lead at the break.

"We got some defensive stops (to end the half)," West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. "(Crutcher) did a nice job of changing the game. I thought we did a great job guarding their guards, guarding their actions."

Donatlan made the outcome academic with his offensive flair after the intermission.

The southpaw scored 17 of his career-best total after halftime to consistently keep the Blackhawks' spread above 20 points for much of the time.

Donatlan single-handedly outscored the five Storm starters by 8 points.

"When (the Storm) got into the 2-3 zone, we were getting some good open looks," Donatlan said.

South Elgin scored 5 more points in the final quarter alone than it could muster in the opening half behind solid reserve play.

"We played well at times," Johnson said.

Collin Uveges and Logan Atkins paced the Storm with 8 points each.