West Aurora avoids monumental upset
West Aurora reserve guard Logan Mont entered the Class 4A Oswego regional semifinal with impeccable timing midway through the fourth quarter.
A substitute for star senior Marquise Walker, who has been battling a knee issue in recent weeks, Mont promptly stole the ball at the timeline against his Minooka counterpart.
Mont powered his dribble all the way home, converting a driving layup to give the Blackhawks their first lead in eight minutes of playing time.
Minooka never scored again as West Aurora, the fourth seed of the East Aurora sectional complex and defending champion, scored the final 14 points of the game to secure a 51-41 victory.
"I knew he was going to come off the screen," Mont said. "When I saw the ball, I just ripped it. It gave our team a lot of energy to finish off the run."
Minooka was in quest of one of the biggest upsets in recent boys basketball postseason history.
The No. 20-seeded Indians had 20 fewer wins than West Aurora entering the game, only to bow out at 6-22 after succumbing to the Blackhawks' pressure defense and rebounding efficiency down the stretch.
West Aurora (27-5) will meet either No. 12 Plainfield Central (15-13) or the fifth-seeded and host Panthers (16-11) Friday night in Oswego for the championship game.
"The first game of the regional is always an interesting game," West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. "(Assistant coach) Paul (Kieffer) had a feeling about (inserting Mont)."
The Minooka totals will certainly be ammunition for the Johnson position.
The Indians, who trailed 23-19 after two quarters, scored more points in the third quarter than the entire first half to take a 39-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
But Minooka would only score 2 points in the final quarter as its high man, Trent Hudak (10 points), had the lone field goal of the fourth for the Indians.
The Mont steal and bucket followed back-to-back scores by the Blackhawks' Kelvin Balfour, who finished with a game-high 16 points, off Minooka turnovers.
Moshe Rogers' score was the last field goal of the game as his West Aurora teammates finished off their 17-2 fourth-quarter run from the free-throw line.
"I feel like we underestimated them," Balfour said of Minooka. "We knew if we lose we are going home. We had to play better (in the fourth) or it was our last (game)."
"I feel for our kids," Minooka coach Kevin Cain said. "Nobody gave them a chance. They didn't care about their record."
Walker added 10 points for the Blackhawks; Traevon Brown added 7 points, with Rogers and Hezzy Salter contributing 6 points each.