On a day the boys basketball playoff pairings were announced, was this just a late-season game between two teams playing out the string?
Hardly.
West Aurora senior Kenyon Weekley wasn’t buying it, and his play Friday night in a Southwest Prairie West game at Plainfield North served as proof.
“There are no meaningless games,” Weekley said. “We had a tough loss last Saturday in the Kivisto at East Aurora (against St. Charles North) and we needed to bounce back and get a ‘W.'”
With Weekley leading the way, the Blackhawks did just that, but not without navigating some choppy waters in an eventual 53-39 victory.
The 6-foot-5 forward scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half as West Aurora (15-13, 10-5) built a seemingly comfortable 14-point lead.
Plainfield North (12-16, 6-9) wasn’t finished, however, scoring 10 straight points to open the third quarter in cutting the deficit to 28-24.
“They must have had a good halftime talk,” West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. “They were ready to roll.”
The Blackhawks were not, turning the ball over seven times in the quarter and going the first 5:36 without scoring a point.
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Junior guard Datavion McClain, who received one of his rare starts, then teamed up with Weekley to stop the Tigers’ surge.
“We weren’t taking care of the ball and lost momentum,” McClain said. “I had the opportunity to start and had to take advantage of it.”
McClain ended the drought by scoring off a rebound. Weekley then made one of his three steals in the quarter and fed McClain for a baseline floater.
Weekley followed by producing another steal, was fouled on his layup attempt and made both free throws. And the lead was back to 34-24.
“Those turnovers were all in a row,” Johnson said. “I think we try to do a little too much, try to get a little cute. We just need to relax and run our action that we know how to run instead of something off the board.”
A 10-0 run by West Aurora to open the fourth bumped the lead to 45-26, and all was well for the Blackhawks.
“We locked in and finished the game,” Weekley said.
West Aurora delivered a balanced scoring effort. Ty Rogers added eight points, Josh Pickett and Isaiah Siler each had seven and McClain notched six.
“We got Kenyon the ball down low and he did a really nice job,” Johnson said. “I thought McClain had his best game of the year, playing with confidence and running the team, which took some pressure off Josh.
“We made some plays and held a team under 40 points. When you can do that, it’s a good night.”
Weekley also handled the point on occasion.
“He’s definitely a point forward for us, especially when the guards are getting pressured,” Johnson said. “We actually tried him at point guard the summer of his sophomore year.
“He wasn’t ready then, but he’s always had the ball in his hands since he was in middle school. He has a knack, and he’s a very good passer as well.”
Weekley said it depends on the matchup.
“If a big man can’t guard me, I like to get the ball and set up a play,” he said.
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The Blackhawks, who drew the ninth seed in the 17-team Class 4A Oswego Sectional, learned they will open the playoffs against eighth-seeded Waubonsie Valley at the Joliet Central Regional.
A championship matchup likely would be against top-seeded Oswego East. Johnson isn’t ready to look ahead just yet, however.
West Aurora will finish the regular season Tuesday at home against Minooka (18-9, 11-4), which edged Yorkville 37-36 Friday and holds a one-game lead for second place in the conference.
“There was a lot riding on this game,” Johnson said. “If we can beat Minooka on Tuesday, that will be twice this season and that’s second place.
“With Oswego East cleaning up, it’s pretty important to get second, especially after we were 1-15 last year.”