Boys Basketball | Aurora wins two of three, including impressive one at Chardon

With a few close losses this winter, the Aurora boys basketball team bolstered their postseason resume with a 69-64 non-league road win Saturday at Chardon.

While the victory won’t hurt the Greenmen’s hopes to earn a respectable seed in the upcoming tournament draw, the victory gained most of its value by virtue of earning a hard-fought tight win on the road.

Aurora coach Greg Rodi saw his club make some critical plays down the stretch to key the win over the Hilltoppers.

Aurora (6-7) came from behind to secure a slight advantage.

After Chardon missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left, junior forward Nathan Balkissoon grabbed the defensive board which led to senior guard Tavion Pride calmly sinking a pair of free throws in the double bonus with 25.1 ticks left to make it 67-64.

Pride got the carom after a subsequent 3-point miss by Chardon and missed both free throws, but senior Derek Blum grabbed the rebound as Rodi called a quick time out with 8.1 seconds left.

Aurora got the inbound pass to Pride, who was fouled with 7.0 ticks left and he buried both free throws.

Coming off an ankle sprain, Pride returned to action and scored all 18 of his points in the second half and had a double-double with 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.

“It was nice to get Tavion back and he had a big second half, but making free throws [15-of-24] was the difference,” said Rodi.

“This was our first trip to 'The Barn' and it was pretty special. It has that small-town appeal and a great atmosphere, and their pep band was so loud that we had to go to hand signals, but this was a great experience that will help us come tournament time,” he added.

Rodi was impressed by his club’s toughness down the stretch and how they hit the boards.

“Derek [Blum] and Nathan [Balkissoon] really came through with clutch rebounds late in the game, along with Tavion,” he said. “We made some free throws and got some rebounds.”

Balkissoon snagged six of his eight boards in the second half and scored nine second-half points.

“Nathan really stepped up with a huge effort in the second half to help Derek on the boards,” said Rodi.

“We had composure down the stretch and I think that comes from playing so many tight games and a good schedule,” added Rodi, who also has Enzo Catania back from an injury. Catania was a starter as a freshman in 2020.

Senior guard John Ugran scored 19 points while Cardaman had a strong floor game with nine points (all on 3s), four assists, and three steals.

Chardon (8-5) was paced by stalwart forward Nathan Sulka, who had 18 points.

Behind a 32-point explosion by Tallmadge in a wild third quarter, Aurora dropped a 79-61 league decision the night before the Chardon game.

Aurora slipped to 3-7 in the Suburban League American Conference while Tallmadge (9-4) improved to 6-3.

Blue Devils guard Caiden McCullough scored a career-high 26 points, which included six 3-pointers, and had 13 points in the third period. Tallmadge drilled 15 3-pointers in the game.

“Tallmadge is very talented and if you don’t defend at a high level for all four quarters, they will make you pay,” said Rodi. “We are 4-2 since mid-January and we are playing well.”

McCullough equaled the six 3-pointers that Ugran made in the game. Ugran also made three triples in the third stanza and ended with 22 points.

Cardaman also made three triples and scored 17 points.

Ugran, a second-team All-Suburban League American Conference pick last winter, torched Cuyahoga Falls for 19 points in the first half in a 53-42 league home win earlier in the week. He finished with 22 points.

“I give their coach [Rodi] a lot of credit, they screen well and move well without the ball,” said Cuyahoga Falls coach Todd Taylor. Blum hit for 20 points.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora Greenmen boys basketball report for the week of January 24-29