ACC 62, Aurora Christian 54

All season long, Aurora Central's boys basketball team has won by putting the squeeze on opponents with Mark Adams pouring in the points from the perimeter while Nick Czaja applies the pressure in the paint.

But hosting Aurora Christian Tuesday night, the Chargers found themselves without either half of their inside-outside combo after Adams turned his ankle and Czaja got into foul trouble.

Enter Anthony Kelley. The junior scored 16, hitting four from beyond the arc including three in the third quarter to keep the Chargers in a game they eventually won, 62-54.

"The shots were there, and that opened our whole offense up," Kelley said. "We knew we needed to step up and have some leadership."

The third quarter belonged to the Eagles who led by 6 twice thanks to an all-out effort by Joe Redmond who led all scorers with 17 points.

"We like him to dribble penetrate against the zone and either go to the basket or kick it to a shooter," Aurora Christian coach Don Davidson said. "We're pretty tough when we do that."

Kelley hit back to back 3s, keeping the Eagles (10-9) from claiming the momentum, and Brian O'Donnell came off the bench to score 5 in the third quarter and provide a spark for the Chargers.

"Our guys had to hit some perimeter shots, and Brian was great tonight," Aurora Central coach Nate Drye said.

The two teams were separated by a single point after each of the first three quarters, and the Chargers held a tenuous 42-41 lead at the start of the fourth.

Back on the floor after having to sit for a stretch with 3 fouls, Czaja helped his team build a 49-43 lead. But Redmond led his team on another offensive surge, and with 1:50 to go the Eagles took a 54-53 lead.

That served as a wakeup call for Aurora Central. O'Donnell canned another 3-pointer to swing the lead back in the direction of the Chargers, who outscored their opponents 9-0 over the final 90 seconds.

"We played a good game and had them on the ropes," Davidson said. "They executed better down the stretch and that was the difference."

The Chargers (21-2) bolted to an 8-0 lead, but Aurora Christian shook out the jitters and started taking care of the ball as their zone defense plugged up the passing lanes.

When Adams went down, the Chargers were left searching for a different way to attack.

Drye is confident, however, the senior guard will be ready for Saturday night's Suburban Catholic Conference showdown against Driscoll.

"Even if I tried to sit him down he wouldn't let me," Drye said. "We were in shock seeing someone like Mark down on the floor. That was a punch to the gut."