Gabriel Gonzales said moving to varsity at West Aurora has been an adjustment.
But the 6-foot-7 junior forward, who was struggling to earn playing time, came off the bench Tuesday night for the Blackhawks and took two charges in the second quarter.
That’ll do it.
“Whenever I get into the game, I’m trying to prove myself so I can earn more,” Gonzales said of playing more minutes. “It’s taking a while, and I’m taking it step by step.”
An unlikely hero, Gonzales stepped up in a big way as West Aurora snapped Oswego East’s 34-game Southwest Prairie Conference winning streak with a 69-51 decision.
The Blackhawks’ victory also ended their streak of futility with the Wolves.
“They surprised me,” first-year West Aurora coach Michael Fowler said of his team. “I didn’t think it was gonna be the way it was. Kudos to my boys. They worked their butts off.”
Two weeks earlier in the season-opening Hoops for Healing Tournament at Naperville North, Oswego East prevailed 68-56, its 12th straight win against West Aurora dating to 2018-19.
Senior guard Jordan Brooks confirmed that result served notice.
“Actually, that first game woke us up,” Brooks said. “Ever since then, we’ve just been going at teams and doing what we have to do on the defensive end to win games.”
It was evident Tuesday in a span of 5:54 of the second quarter when West Aurora (5-2, 3-0) unleashed a 19-0 run to take control with a 34-13 lead.
Gonzales matched prolific scoring teammate Terrence Smith with seven of his nine points in the quarter and added three rebounds and a steal.
The 6-4 Smith finished with a game-high 22 points. Brooks added 14, junior guard Kewon Marshall had 12 and senior point guard CJ Savage chipped in with 10.
“He has been playing well,” Fowler said of Gonzales. “He’s been playing with confidence and was calling for the basketball, so we left him out there.
“When you have people come off the bench with the energy he provided, that was huge.”
A later 9-0 run over four minutes helped West Aurora weather a 19-5 spurt from Oswego East (5-3, 2-1) that fizzled when Jehvion Starwood fouled out with a team-high 21 points.
The Wolves had won all 16 conference games each of the previous two seasons.
“The streak is ended by a good, old fashioned butt whipping,” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez
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said. “It should serve as a wake-up call. We’re not that good.”Yet.
“They’ve got a good team,” Velasquez said of the Blackhawks. “Watching them against Naperville North after we played the first time, they looked like a different team.
“They play for each other, share the ball and play at a good pace. They do a lot of good things — things that we are trying to do. We’re not there yet, but I think we can get there.”
Savage epitomized the Blackhawks’ sharing with seven assists that could have numbered 10 if not for a few dropped passes and missed layups.
Gonzales, meanwhile, will continue his work, joining seniors 6-6 Billy Samp and 6-3 Evan Hackney to give West Aurora an improved post presence.
“Honestly, I think Gabe should get more playing time than what he does,” Smith said. “I knew he was going to take advantage of the time get gets. He’s had to prove himself, but he’s the same way in practice and it translates over.
“We’ve got a lot of people we can rotate in and out to play the five and play hard and aggressive and be a big role for us.”