The Normal West varsity boys basketball team played Champaign Central this week on Tuesday Jan. 9 at home. The Wildcats won 63-47, earning every point.
Coming into the game after a bit of a rough patch of injuries, West proved to be ready to fight Tuesday night. They battled back and forth during the first quarter, ending with a tie at 12-12.
Both teams continued to battle through the second quarter; however, in the last couple minutes, a player from Central landed on his tailbone, and the game was halted due to the injury.
West starter, Junior AJ Austin had a front row view of the injured player as he was the one who got “tangled” up with the injured Central player.
“He got tangled up in my arm, and then he kind of just fell awkwardly. I fell with him, but I didn’t fall as awkwardly. So, I was fine but I don’t know what happened to him,” Austin noted.
“I do know that the athletic trainer said that he had numbness down the side of his leg. They called the ambulance and it was like a 25-30 minute delay,” Head Coach Ed Hafermann stated.
EMTs were called, and the game was halted and sent into halftime as the injured player could not get up off the court, holding his back.
After an extended halftime, the game resumed into the third quarter, where West began their impressive run to take the much-needed win.
Seniors Nate Moore had 11 points, and Taylor Hafermann had 12 points, allowing the Wildcats to stay ahead. Senior Isaiah Robinson dished out multiple assists.
Coach Hafermann was especially proud of his son Taylor Hafermann’s success as this was his first contest back after a hand injury.
“We definitely missed having his rebounding abilities and also his defensive abilities, as well, too. So, he gelled well and you know, being able to have a complete team allows us to see how good we could possibly be,” Coach Hafermann stated.
At the end of regulation, the Wildcats took a much-needed victory with a score of 63-47. Next up, the boys will head to a tournament on Saturday Jan. 13th at 2:30 pm against Wauconda where the team will take on suburb 4A schools. The guys will also spend a lot of time team bonding.
“This allows us also to spend more time together in the hotel, team bonding. We’re going to teach the kids how to play euchre and have a euchre tournament. … One of our coaches has a birthday and one of our players has a birthday, as well,” Hafermann noted excitedly.
