CHAMPAIGN — Aurora Christian’s state-championship dreams dried up in the second overtime against West Central on Thursday.
The Eagles didn’t score in the final four minutes of their 70-65 double-overtime loss in the IHSA Class 1A state semifinals at State Farm Center.
But in the 36 minutes before that, sophomore Marshawn Cocroft put on a show. Cocroft wasn’t an unknown heading into the state finals, but now he’s a star.
Cocroft finished with 36 points, six rebounds and three assists. He was 4-for-9 from three-point range and single-handedly kept the Eagles in the game.
“The college court helped a lot,” Cocroft said. “There was really good space. They weren’t helping a lot, so I scored layups and eventually they were hedging a lot, so I was shooting threes, as well.”
Cocroft’s teammates were 2-for-23 from three and 9-for-37 from the field.
“This is the toughest loss probably for every one of us,” Aurora Christian coach Dan Beebe said. “I’m so proud of them. They have been incredibly resilient. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go your way and you can’t make shots. That was the tale tonight.”
Aurora Christian (25-9) led by eight points after sophomore Asa Johnson’s fast-break layup with 3:57 to play in regulation. The advantage disappeared quickly as West Central tied the game 90 seconds later on two free throws by Zack Evans.
The lead went back and forth until the second overtime. West Central led 68-65 after junior Cameron Sievers’ free throw.
The Eagles had a chance to tie the game but missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the second overtime. Evans drained two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Cougars (35-3).
“We can’t change the result,” Beebe said. “The only thing we can do is move forward. There’s a lot of teams that would love to be in our position.”
Senior Chance Little led West Central with 33 points and seven rebounds. Evans scored 17 and Mason Berry 11.
West Central is a co-op of Winchester and Bluffs. Both schools are several miles outside of Jacksonville in central Illinois.
The Cougars will face Meridian in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday.
“Boy, [Meridian] is quick and athletic,” West Central coach Ryan Sichting said. “The great thing is we’ve seen everything thrown at us defensively.”
Aurora Christian and Hope Academy, conference rivals in the Chicagoland Christian, both lost with very young teams in the Class 1A semifinals. Aurora Christian starts four sophomores.
“Three of them played significant minutes last year, so they are really only sophomores by age, not experience,” Beebe said. “We’ve never used that as a crutch. Nobody cares about that. But this young group goes off with a [25- or 26-win] season. That’s saying quite a bit.”
Hope Academy beat Aurora Christian 44-43 in the Class 1A third-place game late Thursday.
