Shooting woes over for West Aurora's Walker
The shooting woes that have recently plagued Marquise Walker came to a symbolic close as the first quarter ended in his home debut for the West Aurora boys basketball team Friday night.
Walker, a senior guard, drained a desperation 30-footer as the first-quarter clock expired.
A transfer from Curie, Walker would add five other 3-pointers against Glenbard East in scoring a game-high 22 points as the Blackhawks prevailed by the same margin, 73-51, in the schools' Upstate Eight Conference game in Aurora.
In the Blackhawks' two losses, Walker missed all nine 3-point attempts against Oswego East, and the senior was 0-for-11 from the floor against Bloom last Saturday in a shootout in Chicago.
But Walker regained his touch against the Rams, making 6 of 9 shots from beyond the arc.
"After the Bloom game (a 64-46 loss), I just went to the gym and worked," Walker said. "That's all I can say. I let the Bloom game be a memory. I just bounced back; that's all you can do as a player."
Glenbard East guard Daron Hall, who along with Alijah Nelson scored a team-high 17 points, had the opening bucket of the game.
But it proved to be the first of only two leads of the night for the Rams (2-5, 0-2) in the opening quarter.
West Aurora forward Moshe Rogers' 3-pointer on the ensuing possession - the first of 12 conversions from beyond the arc for the Blackhawks - was a telltale sign of what was to transpire for the remainder of the game.
The Walker bomb to end the first quarter concluded a 13-3 run to close the final moments and give the Blackhawks a 20-10 lead.
West Aurora (5-2, 2-0) would cool substantially to end the opening half but still led by double digits at 31-20 at the intermission.
But the fireworks were only beginning for the Blackhawks' talent-laden backcourt as Walker and Traevon Brown, the lone returning starter from the West Aurora Class 4A reigning supersectional outfit, combined for seven 3-pointers after the break.
Brown and junior forward Kelvin Balfour complemented Walker with 15 points apiece.
Glenbard East came within single digits but one time in the second half as the Blackhawks had third- and fourth-quarter outputs of 20 and 22 points, respectively.
"We have been scouting (Walker) a little bit," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "He hasn't been shooting the ball particularly well. Tonight, he shot the ball awfully well. When he and Trae are shooting the ball that well, they're awfully hard to beat."
Rogers had 4 highlight-reel blocked shots in also adding 9 points.
"We know what we're capable of," Rogers said. "We just have to believe in ourselves."