Several sweeping successes
Here’s a regional rewind from a busy Friday across the state.
Three-game sweeps
The old adage “It’s never easy to beat a team three times in one season” proved to be far from true.
Three sets of rivals met for regional championships, and the favorites, who won the previous two matchups, prevailed: St. Charles North beat St. Charles East, Evanston handled New Trier and Naperville Central defeated Naperville North.
In addition, Joliet West (beat Romeoville), Bloom (Thornwood), Cary-Grove (Jacobs) and Kankakee (Rich East) all took care of business with a third victory of the season against their respective foes in regional play.
St. Charles North won its second consecutive regional title, beating St. Charles East at Elgin. The North Stars beat the Saints all three times this season and advanced to a very winnable McHenry Sectional.
Coach Tom Poulin’s team has a nice mix that can lead to an extended playoff run. It starts with the aforementioned sectional, where the North Stars will face 15-19 Rockton Hononegah in the semifinals.
More importantly, St. Charles North has solid guards in Luke Scheffers and Christian Czerniak, a 6-9 big man in Connor Linke and capable shooters who can space the floor.
An underrated piece returned to the North Stars in regional play. Max Love was a key cog before missing 11 games with a torn ligament in his left elbow.
He provided depth as the sixth man and a perimeter threat as arguably the team’s best shooter.
The 6-4 sophomore came up big Friday, scoring 14 points. In the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, he sank a three-pointer and converted 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
The upset of the night
With 12 wins in its last 13 games, including victories over Marian Catholic and Homewood-Flossmoor, it looked as if Bolingbrook, led by Darius Burford, was taking its game to another level.
But along came East Aurora, a team that could match up with Bolingbrook’s speed and athleticism.
The Tomcats, the No. 9 seed at Lockport, upset Oswego East on the road in the regional opener before pulling off the biggest stunner of the regional title games. Little-known Latrone Kirkwood and Amarion Savage combined to score 25 points as East Aurora knocked off second-seeded Bolingbrook 79-72.
It’s the school’s first regional title since the great Ryan Boatright’s senior season in 2011.
West Aurora’s Cinderella run
Winning a regional championship is nothing new for West Aurora. The proud basketball program now has 43 regional plaques.
But winning one this season was a long shot. The Blackhawks struggled through a 9-19 regular season and were seeded 14th in the Lockport Sectional. West Aurora pulled off a huge upset in the regional semifinals, beating 27-win and third-seeded Waubonsie Valley. Then the Blackhawks, behind senior Kevin Balfour’s 26 points, knocked off No. 11 seed Plainfield Central in the regional final.
The Blackhawks, the lowest-seeded team still alive in the state, will meet No. 9 seed East Aurora in the sectional semifinals. This will be the 229th meeting in one of the greatest high school basketball rivalries in Illinois.
East Aurora beat West Aurora 51-44 a little over a month ago.