Boys Basketball: Juwan Starks hits putback as West Aurora wins in 2 OT
Updated: January 14, 2012 11:51PM
West Aurora got out to a huge first-quarter start against Lockport Saturday night, and in the end the Blackhawks would need all of it.
After racing out to a 17-point halftime lead, West let the Porters back into the game and eventually needed two overtimes to seal the deal as Juwan Starks’ putback at the buzzer gave them a 69-67 win.
With Starks scoring nine first quarter points and Jontrel Walker adding eight, the Blackhawks closed the period on a 21-4 run to lead 21-9. West hit five threes and made seven of its 11 shots in the quarter while forcing eight Lockport turnovers on the defensive end.
The lead was 32-15 at the break, but the Porters got back into the game behind some deadly shooting beyond the arc of their own. Bombing their way back into it was about their only option, and they hit six treys in the fourth quarter alone on the way to 42 second-half points.
Trading threes to West’s two-point field goals and free throws down the stretch, the comeback was complete when when Kyle Ward drained a long three-pointer to tie the game at 57-all with 48.3 seconds to go in regulation.
Ward, who had a game-high 25 points on the night, gave the Porters the lead twice in the first overtime on a fallaway jumper and a long three from the top of the key. But Walker, who had 21 on the night, hit two free throws with 80 seconds to play to tie the game at 63 and force the second OT.
With the game tied at 67-all and the ball as the clock wound down in overtime, the Blackhawks ran a final play out of a timeout with 10 seconds to go. Chandler Thomas had a clean look from the left baseline but the ball rimmed out. After a wild scramble Starks picked up the loose ball just inside the free throw line, and his turnaround bounced around and in just after the horn sounded to set off a wild celebration on the court.
Starks finished the night with 22 points, while Jayquan Lee added 11 to give West three players in double figures. Joining Ward in double figures for the Porters was Courtney Cole, who scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and John Campbell, who posted 10.
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