Senior guard Jehvion Starwood was not on one but two missions Tuesday night for Oswego East.
The Wyoming recruit entered the regular-season finale at home against Oswego knowing he was close to becoming the fourth player in the program’s short history to reach 1,000 career points.
And the Wolves, who were coming off a humbling 22-point loss four days earlier to conference foe Yorkville, needed a victory to clinch at least a share of the Southwest Prairie West title.
“When coach told me I was close, I did a couple math problems to make sure I was where I needed to be,” he said. “I had 17 to go to reach 1,000, but the real goal was to win the game.”
No problem, on both counts.
Starwood hit 1,000 on the nose, doing it in style for a 61-31 win over the crosstown rival Panthers.
The 6-foot-3 standout stole the ball near midcourt late in the third quarter and drove to the basket uncontested to put down his fourth dunk of the night and give him his game-high 17 points.
“It was a windmill dunk — I just brought it down,” Starwood said, reenacting his arm’s long arc that ended at the basket as he soared through the air. “I actually work on it a lot.
“We had a dunk contest earlier this year, and I did that dunk.”
This one came with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter, sending the student section into a frenzy.
A minute or so later, Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez pulled his starters, a share of a sixth straight conference title in his seventh season in hand for the Wolves (20-10, 12-4).
“It’s just what we do here,” said Starwood, who played at Yorkville Christian for his first two seasons before transferring. “We win.”
Meanwhile, Terrence Smith scored 11 points to hit the 1,000-point mark for West Aurora in a 34-27 win at Minooka that secured a share of the title for the Blackhawks (20-10, 12-4).
“As a group of high school guys, we’re pretty mature, with a lot of seniors being 18 years old,” Starwood said of his team. “We’re almost grown men. We put things behind us. It’s just a game. If we lose, if we win, it is what it is. It’s always on to the next game.
“(Yorkville) played their best game. We played our worst. And we came out here and played one of our best, and Oswego didn’t. That’s how it is.”
Senior forward Noah Mason scored 12 points and sophomore guard Mason Lockett added 11 for Oswego East. Mason impressed with a game-high nine rebounds to go with two steals, two deflections and two blocked shots.
Senior guard Nolan Petry and sophomore guard Mariano Velasco each had seven points to lead Oswego (4-24, 2-14).
“They’re a phenomenal program,” Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said. “And they’ve been dominating everybody.
“We have to make a shot. You can’t sustain a game where you can’t make open shots or get a rebound. It’s been a frustrating season with all the injuries and transferring.”
At first, Velasquez wasn’t sure Starwood reached the mark. Starwood joins Jay Harris, Sam Schultz and RayJ Dennis in the program’s 1,000-point club.
“When I’m coaching, I’m not thinking about that,” Velasquez said. “I had one of my assistants check and was relieved when he said, ‘He got it.’ I didn’t really want to put him back in there.
“I’m happy for Jehvion, He dropped 37 on Brother Rice at our Christmas tournament. He can score.”
The fifth-seeded Wolves host a regional in the Class 4A East Aurora Sectional, opening Wednesday against 12th-seeded Naperville North. A possible title game looms Friday against fourth-seeded Benet.
Still, first things first.
“I think 20 wins is a special thing,” Velasquez said. “Winning is extremely hard, but I think these guys have learned from our mistakes through the year.”
