Kelley's 2 free throws with .3 left push Aurora Central past S. Elgin

It was certainly cold enough to have ice in your veins on Saturday night.

Aurora Central's Anthony Kelley took his turn as Mr. Freeze when he went to the line with 0:00.3 seconds left for a 1-and-1 free throw situation.

There was certainly plenty of heat elsewhere in the Chargers gym at the time. Visiting South Elgin led 43-42 in front of a packed house on ACC's Senior Night in a nonconference game that had plenty of grit from start to finish.

But Kelley stepped up and drained both free throws and gave his team a 44-43 victory.

Kelley's opportunity arrived after a pair of missed South Elgin free throws with just under 4 seconds to play.

"Mike (Adams) got a great board, and threw it to me on a dime," Kelley said. "I was just trying to get to the hole. I got hit. I looked up at the ref, and he said 'foul.' They called timeout, and Coach (Nate Drye) says 'Have you got this?' I said 'It's game.'"

Kelley proved key down the stretch. He scored 14 fourth quarter points, including his team's final 7 points to rescue a game in which the Chargers trailed nearly wire to wire.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Kelley said. "Being a senior on Senior Night, it was a huge game to go out of here with."

The win completes a perfect home slate for ACC (22-3), which has a Wednesday game with St. Francis remaining. The Chargers have only lost once at home the last two seasons.

"If anybody on our team, I'd want to be the guy to hit those shots," Kelley said. "I've been (on varsity) four years and been through the bumps and bruises of playing. It was unbelievable to knock those down and be undefeated at home this year."

South Elgin (17-7) played a patient game against ACC's zone and led from the midpoint of the first quarter until the final 2:36 of the game.

The Storm got timely shooting, especially in the form of a pair of 3-pointers by Alex Sanchez and Kyle Osborne to forge a 20-15 halftime lead. That margin was 29-22 entering the fourth quarter and was 34-28 as late as with 5:11 remaining when Jordan Dobler scored. Dobler finished with 12 points for the Storm.

But the Storm only hit 8-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter to help hand the advantage back to ACC, which doubled its 22-point total in the final quarter to gain the 1-point win.

"We just didn't make our free throws down the stretch," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said. "If we're going to be able to win big games against teams like that, you've got to be able to make free throws. It's the little things that count."

ACC rallied, and took the lead at 37-36 when Kelley fed Adams for a layup. The game seesawed briefly but then the Storm surged to a 43-39 martin with only 11 seconds to play.

Kelley brought the Chargers to within 1 point with a 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining. Then he hit the game-winning free throws. South Elgin did not get a shot at the basket before the buzzer sounded.