Richard Bell Jr., West Aurora top Ridgewood

West Aurora’s Richard Bell Jr. considers football his No. 1 sport right now, but the junior guard/forward is carving out a niche for himself on the basketball court.

The 6-foot-3 Bell joined the Blackhawks’ starting lineup two games before Pontiac’s holiday tournament opener in late December and found a home for himself.

“I really love basketball,” Bell said. “When I was a kid, I always played there, but never on an organized team until seventh grade at Jefferson Middle School. I mostly played in the yard or in the neighborhood.

“I stopped focusing on it when I started playing more soccer, but I continued to play. It’s still something I work for. I’m happy to have the opportunity to play with my friends.”

Bell did her part Friday night, scoring nine points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking four shots as host West Aurora held off visiting Ridgewood 59-57 in overtime in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover.

Junior point guard Travis Brown led the way for the Blackhawks (14-10), scoring a game-high 27 points with four assists and three steals to thwart Ridgewood (9-11).

But afterward, much praise was heaped on Bell.

“Richard is someone who is not afraid to defend, nor is he afraid to rebound,” West Aurora coach Mike Fowler said. “He knows what he’s doing, trying to give energy, and he’s been rewarded.

“We put him on the court and he knows he’s probably going to guard one of the best perimeter players we’ll face. We ask him to rebound, ask him to defend.”

Bell noted that he scored more last winter while leading the team as a sophomore.

“Going into the season, I obviously hoped to make a big impact on the team, but I didn’t see myself starting as much or getting as many minutes as I did,” Bell said. “But as the season progressed, the coaches seemed to see more in me, especially in my defensive play.

“I guarded a 6-6 point guard at Plainfield East and a 6-5 point guard against New Trier. I’m rebounding and doing a lot of dirty work. I’m finally starting to score more lately because I’m gaining confidence.”

West Aurora opened a 29-20 halftime lead. Ridgewood, a smaller and scrappy group, continued to fight, taking a 40-39 advantage early in the fourth quarter and pushing it to 49-41.

That was before Brown rallied the Blackhawks with back-to-back 3-pointers.

“It felt like we were going back to our old ways,” said Fowler, whose team missed six straight free throws in the third quarter. “You have to step up to your court and knock down those free throws to give yourself some cushion, but I give them credit.

“Ridgewood is well-coached, plays hard and we knew they weren’t going to be pushovers. They were going to come after us, be aggressive, play with energy. That’s what they did. Sometimes we weren’t up to the task.”

But sophomore forward Amon Greene made the second of two free throws with 58.8 seconds left in overtime to tie the score at 57-57, then made two more with 14.9 seconds left in the final margin.

The game was delayed by the late arrival of buses from Ridgewood due to heavy snow on the lakes closer to town, making for a long day.

“We came out really flat,” Brown said. “And they were really aggressive – the most aggressive team we’ve faced all year.”

Bell helped keep the team going.

“He brings energy to the team and plays defense all game,” Brown said. “He doesn’t lose energy at all during the game. Hard worker. He’s just a hard worker.”

Last fall in football, Bell finished with four receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. He also returned two kickoffs for 43 yards.

“I also played football at Jefferson, quarterback,” Bell said. “I moved to wide receiver halfway through my freshman year. My junior year didn’t go the way I wanted, but Eastern Michigan came to my class this winter and told me they were interested in me. So did Indiana State.

“I like football more, although I started a little late too.”