After not playing at West Aurora, Jason Moore emerges from the shadows for East Aurora. ‘He’s got a chance.’

He’s only four games into his high school career, but it seems safe to say that junior center/forward Jason Moore will be a keeper this season for East Aurora.

The 6-foot-2 Moore has certainly made a good first impression after transferring from West Aurora.

“I didn’t play basketball over there,” said Moore, choosing not to delve further into his reasons after playing at Jefferson Middle School and then on the travel circuit with Aurora-based Illinois Superior. “By sophomore year, I felt I lost the love for it.

“At one point, though, I realized I did love the sport. That’s when I decided I needed to get into it and I felt like I had way better opportunities over here — for basketball and a lot of things.”

The move was finally given the official OK by the Illinois High School Association after his grandmother was took over guardianship.

Moore looked right at home Monday night, but the Tomcats dropped a 64-54 decision to Thornridge in the Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament third-place game at St. Charles East.

Moore scored five points but grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for East Aurora (2-2). He finished the tournament averaging 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, with totals of 38 in each category.

“This is a kid I had no intentions of getting points from coming into the tournament,” East Aurora coach Rick Robinson said of Moore. “His job was to play defense and get rebounds.

“Much to my surprise, he’s the second-leading scorer on the team. That’s something I wasn’t anticipating.”

At the defensive end, Moore had his hands full guarding 6-5 junior jumping jack Ty’Ron Holcomb, who had a team-high 18 points with eight blocked shots and seven rebounds for the Falcons (3-1).

“I’ve always been used to playing against people bigger than me because I didn’t have great ball-handling skills,” Moore said. “I was always the big man on my team, so I’m used to playing against taller people.

“I realize I have to be more physical, have to actually size myself up against them and realize what I can’t do and play through it. I used to play baseball, too, but basketball is the more physical sport and I like that.”

Junior forward Casston Cross came through with a game-high 21 points to lead the Tomcats, who struggled taking care of the ball and committed 12 of their 28 turnovers in the first quarter.

They still led 14-8 before the Falcons took charge.

“There’s no way we were supposed to lose this game like that,” Robinson said. “We were right there. We’ve got all these Magic Johnson passers who want to look away and this and that. I hate to say it, there are a few guys I was not happy with.

“And we’ve got some shooters who seem to have forgotten what a pump fake is. The big kid had, what, seven or eight blocks? You have to get him up in the air.”

Freshman guard Mosiah Tang came off the bench and added 10 points for the Tomcats.

“I’ve been really impressed with Tang,” Robinson said. “He’s strong. He played with the Illinois Wolves and has been battle-tested.”

The defensive effort of sophomore guard Jamir Malone also drew praise from Robinson.

“The first two games of the tournament we won and had four and then three in double figures,” Robinson said. “All of a sudden, we played against a team that’s a little athletic in Schaumburg and messed up on that one.

“In this one, I hate to say it, but I think we got punked by these boys. I think we beat ourselves.”

While there’s work to be done, all-tournament selection Cross and Moore stood out.

“I loved the fact that Jason is out there and playing and nobody gave him a chance,” Robinson said. “He got a chance and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity.”