Aurora Central's Drye gets 200th in win at ICCP
A year ago Aurora Central Catholic lost a double-overtime heartbreaker in Elmhurst to IC Catholic Prep.
On Friday night the Chargers turned the tables, and this one had a little extra meaning.
Behind a 27-point effort from Kyle Czerak, visiting ACC came from behind to defeat the Knights 55-48 in a Metro Suburban Blue matchup and give coach Nathan Drye his 200th victory.
"I've been with (Drye) for four years," Czerak said. "Through it all, through thick and thin, we always find ways to win. He gets us prepared for every game. And to win it like that, that's the perfect way for us to play. That is how he pushes us to play and that was an exciting way to win."
Czerak was referring to the constant effort from the Chargers throughout the four quarters, especially on the defensive end. ACC forced ICCP into 28 turnovers, helping the Chargers overcome a poor shooting performance from the field.
"I couldn't be happier with the guys," Drye said, "and how they kept playing. We are not supremely talented offensively, but what we can do is give consistent effort on defense. We kept harassing them on defense and then we hit those two 3s, that was our spurt.
"It was just a great way to get (the 200th). That embodies our program. We have no size but it doesn't matter. Our kids play hard."
The Knights led 23-21 at halftime and extended that margin to 32-29 heading into the final eight minutes. They were still clinging to a 1-point advantage before Colin Dean hit a 3-pointer with 3:40 left to give ACC the lead for good. Cameron Kalmas followed with a 3 to make the score 42-38, and Czerak made nine free throws over the final two minutes to keep ICCP at bay. Czerak finished 15 of 16 at the free-throw line.
"They threw a chaotic press at us and we weren't composed," ICCP coach T.J. Tyrrell said. "We were throwing the ball all over the place. We just didn't battle through it. We had opportunities to open things up but they hit some big shots down the stretch. And they hit free throws; we struggled with free throws and turnovers."
Jonas Cebulski and Kalmas had 10 points apiece for the Chargers (2-2, 1-0).
Khali Saunders led the Knights (5-2, 1-1) with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Nico Gaudio had 10 points and 9 rebounds and Kevin Cheng chipped in with 9 points.
"They were in our faces," Cheng said. "They were all over the place. They knew they had a size disadvantage and they used their quickness and speed and got us rattled. But as long as we learn from it, we should be OK."