Aurora is living up to its reputation for high school basketball excellence and enthusiasm.
• The celebration focus will be generated by the East-West girls and boys games at West Aurora Saturday, Jan. 18. The West Aurora Hall of Fame induction will take place between the girls varsity 4 p.m. game and the boys 6 p.m. varsity game.
• Between the sophomore and varsity game Friday, Jan 31 Neal Ormond, West Aurora radio play-by-play broadcaster since 1964, will receive a well-earned salute with the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) Distinguished Media Service Award. That same evening, East Aurora will salute it Hall of Fame Class between sophomore and varsity boys games. The varsity game at 7 p.m. will be between East Aurora and Glenbard East.
• Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora and in the DuPage Valley Conference continues to play well with a 16-1 record following last weekend’s thumping of Naperville Central, 73-44, in an important Conference game.
• Taaj Davis, who became the ninth Aurora Christian High School player to surpass 1,000 points December 21, 2019 with 33 points against St. Francis, poured in 110 points in two games last weekend. He scored 56 points Friday to set the school’s single-game scoring record in the Eagles’ 102-58 victory over Bishop McNamara. He scored 54 points Saturday in the 98-92 double overtime victory over Chicago Christian.
Aurora Christian leads the Metro Suburban Blue with a 4-0 record and is 11-2 overall.
East Aurora, 10-7, and tied for third place in the Upstate Eight Conference, is favored in the Friday game at West Aurora, 3-5 in the Southwest Prairie West, and 5-11 overall through Monday.
“You never know what will happen in an East-West game,” West Aurora head coach Brian Johnson said earlier this week. “Records don’t matter. All of the players are excited for the game. There really is a special feel in town of Aurora when we play. The biggest challenge for us will be to stay within ourselves and control what we can control. We can’t let the ebb and flow of the game control our emotions.
“East Aurora is very talented. They are athletic, quick, play fast, and cover all positions. We are pretty comparable in size. They probably have the edge in all-around athleticism.”
East Aurora is led by Amarion Savage, 6-1 junior guard, Jashaun Hurston, 6-0 senior guard, Jacques Kelly, 6-3 forward, and Jullian Acosta, 6-2 sophomore guard/forward.
“Different players throughout the season have played well,” Johnson said. “(Guards) Logan Mont and Kenny Dyson consistently show up and leave all of their efforts on the floor.
Other key players are Alex Motola, Paul Shavers, Kelvin Balfour, Christian Nieves, and center Jon Dowd.
Waubonsie Valley head coach Jason Mead on the lop-sided victory over Naperville Central: “Our guys shot the ball very well and forced (Central) to extend their defense, which led to easier shots at the rim. Ben Schwieger had 26 points, Marcus Skeete (the only returning starter from last season’s 27 victories), had 17, Isaiah Smith 11, and Adri Malushi 10. Carter Langendorf (6-5) has stepped up of late. He played well guarding (6-10 Chris) Conway who scored four points.”
Waubonsie Valley will play four MLK games at Burlington Central (see page 11) Friday, Saturday, and Monday. The Warriors will play Lyons, from West Suburban Silver Friday, play Woodstock North and Belvidere North Saturday, and play for placement Monday in one of the four games.
Dan Beebe, Aurora Christian head coach, broke down scoring statistics for Davis. In Friday’s 56 points, Davis made 22 of 31 field goals, including six of 10 from three-point, six of seven free throws, eight rebounds, five assists. Saturday, Davis was 17 of 32 in field goals and six of 11 from three-point, with nine rebounds and two assists. This year he’s averaging 29 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals, 2.2 steals, 49.8% field goals, 38.3% from three-point and 73.4% in free throws.