By Phil Keren

Correspondent

A balanced scoring attack combined with an aggressive defense that created turnovers propelled Aurora to a hard-fought 62-59 win over Kent Roosevelt on Friday.

Aurora head coach Cody Calhoun was pleased to see his team unite and win a tightly contested game. Though it’s mid-January, the Greenmen leader noted the players are still figuring out where they fit and how best to work together.

“Yesterday was the first practice we’ve had with our 12 varsity guys on the floor together,” said Calhoun. “We’re still figuring things out and our roles are changing a little bit but we have a great group of guys that come ready to work every day.”

Aurora entered the fourth quarter with a 50-43 advantage but the Rough Riders hung around and chipped away at the lead. After Aurora senior guard Zach Pannetti made one of two free throws to give his squad a 61-57 lead with 30 seconds left, Roosevelt senior forward Ryan Slocum hit a bank shot to cut Aurora’s lead to two. The Greenmen then broke through Roosevelt’s full court press and Pannetti was fouled in the front court with 9 seconds remaining.

Pannetti made his first foul shot but missed the second. Roosevelt senior guard Jaden Dennison pushed the ball across the time line and put up a 3-point shot that hit the rim. Aurora secured the rebound and the ball was lobbed into the backcourt as time expired. Dennison was the game’s high scorer with 30 points, including six 3-pointers, with a couple of those coming from well beyond the high school 3-point line.

“Jaden Dennison, every time I see him play, I walk away more impressed,” Calhoun said.

Meanwhile, Aurora was led by senior guard Brock Habbyshaw, who recorded 18 points, as well as four treys of his own.

“He’s been in a lot of games,” Calhoun said. “You got a senior like that…it makes a lot of things easier for you as a coach. Brock’s worked super-hard at his craft and he’s a leader. We’ve seen him in those moments before. We’re comfortable with him, not just at the ending but throughout the whole game we put the ball in his hands and trust him that things are going to happen.”

The first half consisted of four lead changes and five ties with each team going on scoring runs. Roosevelt led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, there were four ties and two lead changes. Aurora grabbed the lead toward the end of the second quarter and never gave it up the rest of the way. The Greenmen scored in multiple ways: senior forward Ryan Dwyer tallied an old-fashioned three-point play on a putback; senior guard Ben Lukasik stole the ball and finished with a layup at the other end; junior guard Josh Harrell knocked down a pair of modern 3-pointers; and senior forward Joe Janzig made a layup after getting a dime from Harrell.

Aurora’s tenacious defense caused turnovers that were quickly turned into points. With a 28-27 lead just before halftime, the Greenmen’s full-court pressure defense forced a Rough Rider miscue. On the ensuing possession, Harrell swished a trey to give his team a four-point advantage and plenty of momentum.

On defense, Aurora often double-teamed and trapped the ball-handler—usually Dennison—in an effort to create turnovers and hurried shots.

“We wanted to get up and pressure a little bit more now that we have more guys we can play,” Calhoun said. “Playing into our style … that we were hoping to come into the year playing. … At times (the pressure defense) was just to help get (the ball) out of (Dennison’s) hands…trying to get it out of his hands a little bit and speed him up and see if we can make their other guys make some decisions as well.”

In the middle of the third quarter, the game’s two leading scorers traded 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions. Dennison swished a trey to reduce Aurora’s lead to 36-34.

Habbyshaw countered with a 3, followed by Dennison hitting another 3-ball, and Habbyshaw answering again from deep. In the third quarter, the Greenmen scored on 3- pointers, driving layups and lay-ins thanks to pretty passes from Habbyshaw and Harrell.

In the fourth period, Aurora only made three field goals but they seemed to happen at a critical moment each time. After going scoreless for the first 90 seconds of the quarter, Dwyer made a layup to give the Greenmen a 52-45 lead. Aurora then went scoreless for almost 3 minutes and found its advantage cut to 52-49 after Dennison made his fifth 3-pointer of the night.

Aurora sophomore Gui Goedert made a layup to put his team up by five. Then, with less than 2 minutes to go, Dennison drove to the hoop and dished to senior Brian Dugan for a lay-in to reduce Aurora’s lead to 55-51. With the Rough Riders turning up the intensity of its pressure defense, Habbyshaw accelerated to the basket and made a layup to put Aurora up, 57-51, with 1:20 to go.

Calhoun offered kudos to Goedert, who made some key baskets throughout the game.

“He’s a basketball player,” Calhoun said. “He loves it. He plays year-round, works really hard at his craft to get better. He just loves the game.”

Down the stretch, Aurora had to pick its way through an aggressive pressure defense from Roosevelt and make free throws. In the final minute, the Greenmen made 5 of 10 foul shots, which ended up being enough for the win. Of particular importance, Pannetti netting one of his two free throws gave the Greenmen a pivotal three-point lead and forced Roosevelt to shoot a long 3 in an attempt to tie the game.

The Rough Riders’ pressure defense was a formidable test for Aurora, according to their leader.

“I thought at times we did a good job (handling the pressure),” Calhoun said. “A couple times, we got a little chaotic. Part of that is just continue to get experience in these moments for different guys. We haven’t played with a ton of leads at the end of games. It’s still kind of a new thing at times for our guys.”

A total of eight players got into the scoring column for Aurora: Habbyshaw had 18 points, while Harrell scored 12, and Pannetti and Goedert had 9 each.

For Roosevelt, Dennison scored 30 points, while sophomore forward Cyler Foreman recorded 9 and junior forward Gavin Peeps chipped in with 7.