West Aurora’s Terrence Smith didn’t have to worry. CJ Savage had his back.
The Blackhawks’ leading scorer with a 14-point average, Smith found himself saddled with game-long foul trouble in Tuesday night’s home and Southwest Prairie Conference opener with Yorkville.
It resulted in Smith, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, logging as much sitting time as playing time. But Savage, the team’s 5-9 senior point guard, made up for it.
“I’ve talked to him about what I expect from him on the floor,” West Aurora coach Michael Fowler said. “CJ is someone who can put the ball in the hole, and he’s a competitor. Sometimes, his competitive nature gets in the way a little bit, but you can’t take that away from a player.
“He has to be on the floor for us. He has to lead for us. He has to make shots and turn around and guard for us, so he understands that.”
Savage made four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, leading the Blackhawks to a 55-33 victory over Illinois recruit Jason Jakstys and the short-handed Foxes.
Savage added three assists and received help from backcourt mate Jordan Brooks, a 6-2 senior who had 13 points and five assists. West Aurora (3-2, 1-0) was coming off a second-place finish in last week’s Hoops for Healing Tournament hosted by Naperville North and Oswego.
The 6-10 Jakstys, slowed by a back ailment, paced Yorkville (2-2, 0-1) with 10 points. Twin 5-11 senior guards Dayvion and Kaevian Johnson added nine and eight points, respectively.
“Going into games our whole mode is shutting down the other team, especially its best players,” Brooks said. “It’s ‘defense first’ for us.”
The Foxes were minus two starters. Jory Boley, a 6-2 senior forward, was sidelined by an asthma attack, while 6-5 senior forward Bryce Salek has yet to play and will be out a couple more weeks due to injury, according to coach John Holakovsky.
“Our top three options weren’t available,” Holakovsky said. “I thought we competed our butt off on the defensive end in the first half. We run all our offense through those three, and we’re just undermanned right now. It’s tough.”
Smith, meanwhile, was limited to four points, all coming in the first quarter. He sat out much of the second quarter with two fouls, picked up his third foul just 11 seconds into the third quarter and his fourth foul only 52 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“Terrence and I talked about that foul trouble at halftime,” Savage said. “We had to get the win for him, especially because he couldn’t play the minutes he normally would.”
Savage banked in a 3-pointer and beat the buzzer with another to tie the game at 14-14 after one quarter. The Blackhawks then held Yorkville to just two points in the second quarter and took control 26-16 at the break.
Kewon Marshall, a 6-1 junior jumping jack, came off the bench to add six points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists for the Blackhawks. Gabriel Gonzales, a 6-7 junior reserve, added six points.
“That’s Kewon’s deal,” Fowler said. “He can get off the ground pretty quick. He’s been a great spark off the bench for us. Gonzales gives us some good spot minutes here and there.”
Meanwhile, the emotional Savage kept charging.
“Sometimes I have to reel him in,” Fowler said. “But he always competes, day in and day out, and that’s all I could ask from him.
“Terrence was in foul trouble but his teammates had his back, and that’s what basketball is about. It’s a team sport. It’s gonna happen sometimes when your top scorer isn’t scoring.”
CJ & Co. look to be at the ready.
