West Central rallies to beat Aurora Christian in two overtimes in Illinois Class 1A boys basketball semifinal

Chance Little scores team-high 33 points in comeback win

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – The West Central basketball team didn’t stop fighting in its Illinois Class 1A semifinal boys basketball matchup against Aurora Christian on Thursday.

The Cougars trailed for most of the game and were down by eight points with 3 minutes 59 seconds remaining, but the senior-laden squad, led by seniors Chance Little, Zack Evans and Mason Berry, didn’t give in and emerged with a 70-65 double-overtime victory at State Farm Center.

“We just keep fighting all the time,” Berry said. “That’s really it. We have one goal and it’s win a state championship. So we just keep pushing for that.”

Little, a 6-foot-4 forward, led West Central (35-3) with 33 points, including hitting 15 of 20 free throw attempts. Evans scored 17 points and dished out four assists and Berry added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Illinois (IHSA) boys basketball state championships live updates: Day 1 scores, results, stories (3/7/2024)

“They had some quicker guards, so I knew Zack (Evans) wouldn’t be able to get around them as easily as he usually does,” Little said. “I knew I had to go down and be physical in the post and just get my job done.”

“Our teammates do a very, very good job of finding me when I’m open. I felt like I owed them,” Evans said. “There in the first half I had, I think, zero points. I knew they needed me so I had to step up to the plate and be a leader like I am.”

The Cougars will face Meridian (Mounds) (26-8) in the Illinois Class 1 championship game at 11 AM CT on Saturday. 

Sophomore guard Marshawn Cocroft led Aurora Christian (25-9) with 36 points on 15-of-27 shooting. He made four 3-pointers.

Jalen Carter scored 13 points in the loss, while Asa Johnson added 12.

Aurora Christian led 7-5 after one quarter, 20-18 at halftime and 37-34 after three quarters and by as many as eight points midway through the fourth quarter.

West Central, which led for just 6:06 the entire game – compared to 28:43 for Aurora Christian – kept fighting.

The Cougars outscored Aurora Christian 23-20 in the fourth quarter to send the game to OT and after both teams scored eight points in the first four-minute overtime period, West Central outscored the Eagles 5-0 in the second overtime to secure the victory. 

Illinois 1A semifinal: West Central - Aurora Christian

Photos by Nate Latsch

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveIL