The Aurora Greenmen boys’ basketball team appeared headed for another loss after scoring only four points in the third quarter. But the Greenmen rallied in the fourth period to defeat Eastlake North 59-56 for its second straight victory last Thursday evening at The Greenhouse.
“It’s a big deal,” said Coach Cody Calhoun. “I do not know how long it has been since we won a couple of games in a row but to be able to that on our home floor against quality competition, I am just proud of our guys for battling and to be able to come out with a victory.”
Aurora needed to find a spark in the fourth quarter after being outscored by a 14-4 margin in the third period, having its six-point lead turn into a four-point deficit.
The Greenmen (4-4, 1-3) only shot one-of-eight in the third quarter and after attempting nine 3-pointers in the first half, only attempted two 3-point shots in the third period. Eastlake North’s offense was ignited by senior forward Sean Register, Jr., who scored 10 points in the third period to key a 14-3 run.
In addition to the 6-foot-6 Register, junior forward Nate Tadiello recorded two blocks and the Greenmen’s offense went quiet, trailing 39-36 at the end of the third period.
“It’s hard because our team is undersized,” said senior forward Cooper Carnahan. “We are mostly either 5-foor-9 or 5-foot-10 and Eastlake North’s guards were pretty stacked.”
Despite a dominating third quarter by the Rangers, Aurora staged an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter that was sparked by forcing a pair of turnovers resulting in some easy fast break lay-ups for sophomore guard Joshua Harrell.
“That was huge,” said junior guard Brock Habbyshaw. “It just boosted our momentum and they had to call a timeout and after that it just kept going and we got them into foul trouble, and we hit our free throws.”
Despite Register adding eight points in the fourth quarter, the Greenmen stifled him in the beginning of the period.
Carnahan said he fronted Register in the post so he could not see the ball clearly and also kept him off the glass, preventing him from extending some of Eastlake North’s possessions.
Aurora also rediscovered its shooting form, hitting two-of-three 3-pointers aided by Habbyshaw, who knocked down both 3-point shots at critical points.
According to Aurora’s first-year coach, the Greenmen showed maturity in rebounding from a challenging third quarter to overtake Eastlake North in the fourth period and string together its first winning streak of the season.
“It’s a big sign of growth in our team,” he added. “Earlier in the year sometimes teams would make runs and we would not respond right away but our guys just fought right back and got back after it.”
It was a high-scoring affair in the first quarter with the teams combining for 12 3-point shots with Aurora going three-of-four from beyond the arc to take a 15-14 lead.
“Ben Lukasik hit a 3-pointer right off the bat,” noted Habbyshaw. “I only had one after that but we started to heat up in the second half and could not miss. It just really kept our momentum going.”
The 6-foot-5 Carnahan drew the assignment of being the primary defender on Register and held him to only six points in the first period, but Aurora gambled by giving him a rest in the second quarter with the Rangers’ big man still patrolling the floor.
Calhoun inserted sophomore forward Luke Bonnette in Carnahan’s place and Aurora won the Carnahan-less minutes, holding a 24-20 advantage when he re-entered the game.
“Luke is a sophomore, but I told him to get in there and be physical,” Calhoun said. “He got his hand in there on a couple of balls and made things tough. I think he got Register frustrated a little bit. We trust our guys and they are all on the team for a reason so they are ready for their moment when the time comes.”
The victory against Eastlake North marked the first winning streak for the Greenmen since they took a four-game winning streak into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I postseason two years ago.
A promising start to the 2023-24 season evaporated when the Greenmen suffered a three-game losing streak at the hands of their Suburban League American Conference rivals, but they are ending the 2023 year on the right note.
“We have seen a big growth with our guys and they have gotten a lot of experience,” noted Calhoun. “We had some difficult losses in the league and our guys just kept coming in every day and wanted to get better. They took what they saw on film and found ways to improve as we went.”
Aurora will return to the court in the New Year when it hits the road to face SLAC foe Revere in Richfield on Friday evening at 8 p.m.
