Sports
Boys Basketball: Boatright Scores 41; East Blitzes West with Second-Quarter Surge
East Aurora 74, West Aurora 66. East High senior standout Ryan Boatright poured in 41 points, and Snoop Viser added 16 as the Tomcats ended the Blackhawks' three-game win streak in storied city series.
The Hot Read: East Aurora torched arch-rival West Aurora for 26 points in the second quarter. The Tomcats built a 37-31 lead at halftime they never relinquished in a 74-66 boys basketball victory witnessed by more than 4,000 fans at the Tomcats’ famed gymnasium Saturday night in Aurora. Snoop Viser hit consecutive 3-point field goals to jump-start the Tomcats’ offense, and standout guard Ryan Boatright did the rest. After losing all three games to West High during his career, the UConn-bound candidate for Illinois’ Mr. Basketball lit up the Blackhawks for 41 points, including 12 in the second quarter and 13 more in the decisive fourth quarter when West Aurora sliced its one-time 13-point third-quarter deficit to five on three occasions.
Patch MVP: Boatright took command of the historic rivalry game, the 214th meeting between the storied programs, with 41 points, three rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks.
Key Stats: Boatright connected on all seven of his second-quarter field goal attempts, and East High blistered West High during the quarter, hitting 10-of-12 shots in a 26-point outburst. West High countered with many second-chance points off its 13 offensive rebounds, but the Tomcats’ overall quickness turned the tide.
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East High Leaders: Boatright, Viser (16 points, four 3-pointers), Patrick Pryor (8 points).
West High Leaders: Juwan Starsk (13 points, 8 rebounds), Kyle Pilmer (12 points, 5 rebounds), Brandon Hayes (10 points), Jonathan Dennison (10 points), Tommy Goulding (9 points), Kenny Battle Jr. (9 points).
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Quotable I: West High coach Gordie Kerkman on Boatright: “He is very difficult to prepare against for one thing. There aren’t too many guys you see during the season as talented as him. We sure haven’t this year. You can’t simulate what he does in practice.”
Quotable II: East High coach Wendell Jeffries on the Blackhawks’ offensive rebounding: “I wasn’t that concerned about their second-chance points. We have been giving up second-chance points all season. The coach needs to teach the kids how to box out.”
Uniqueness of Rivalry: The schools’ football programs played the first interscholastic competition in state history when they met for the first time in the fall of 1893. The basketball programs first played during the 1912-13 school year.
Team records: East High improved to 18-5; West High fell to 13-9.
