Boys Basketball: West takes control for Panthers
| Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 7, 2012 11:28PM
In a game with plenty of athleticism on both sides of the court, the difference-maker in the annual Route 71 matchup between Yorkville and Oswego was Ryan West.
The effort of the 6-foot-3 senior helped Oswego break away from the visiting Foxes in the second half and win going away 67-51.
“It was a breakout weekend for Ryan, with back-to-back 20 (points), 10 (rebound) games,” said Oswego coach Kevin Schnable, whose team rebounded from a conference loss to Minooka the night before.
The Panthers improved to 7-6. Yorkville fell to 11-4.
West filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and five assists. At no time was his presence felt more than the third quarter.
After the score was tied 32-32 at halftime, the two teams both scored on two possessions. That was when West took over. He nailed his third high-arching three-pointer of the game two minutes into the period. Following a turnover, he finished a fast break with a layup. Later he scored on a feed from Elliot McGaughy. Then, after a teammate’s missed three-point attempt, West got two offensive rebounds but couldn’t get the putback. He finally got fouled on his third rebound and made both free throws.
“I had been messing around with my shot in practice, and last night I hit three three-pointers in a row,” West said. “It seemed to carry over to tonight. I didn’t want to lose this game. Coach (Schnable) always talks about refusing to lose, and I kind of took that to heart and focused on being the best leader I could be.”
By the time Darion Redick hit a three-pointer near the end of the period, the Panthers were up 53-45 and would continue to expand the lead from there.
“I thought we did a good job of finishing our shots and going up strong in the first half,” first-year Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “But, for whatever reason, we were more tentative and didn’t look to go to the basket. And we missed a few layups. Give Oswego credit, they’re a physical team with some big boys.”
West had plenty of help from his talented junior guards, McGaughy and Miles Simelton. McGaughy led all scorers with 22 points, including nine in the final period. Simelton chipped in with 14 points. The two guards helped limit Oswego’s turnover total to 10, impressive in an uptempo game.
Joshua Williams led Yorkville with 16 points and went 7-for-8 from the field. Stephen Jones had eight of his 14 points in the first half, and he went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.
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