Schutt leads Aurora Christian to SCC win

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Updated: January 27, 2012 11:27PM

By the end of the third quarter, Marian Central had fought back into the game, getting uncomfortably close in a game Aurora Christian had seemed ready to turn into a blowout.

CJ Schutt had enough of the drama. The senior put his team on his back, restoring the big lead and lifting the Eagles to a 79-56 victory over visiting Marian Central.

Aurora Christian improved to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the Suburban Christian Conference with the triumph.

Schutt had a career-high 26 and also pulled down nine rebounds for the Eagles. At no time were the leadership and offensive skills of the 6-foot-6 center more prominent than at the start of the fourth period.

The Hurricanes had trimmed a 41-22 halftime deficit down to 57-48 with eight minutes to go. They had all the momentum after finishing the quarter on an 8-2 run, with Ross Langlois (21 points on five three-pointers) nailing two treys during that surge.

That’s when Schutt went to work. Following a Johnathan Harrell putback, Schutt scored on a pretty drive down the lane. He followed that with another drive which he finished with a spin move that resulted in a three-point play.

“When I drive, two things are going to happen — either I’ll get fouled, or the ball’s going in,” said Schutt, who hit 10 of his 14 field goal attempts. “And when they collapsed on me, I just kicked it out to our shooters.”

Following a turnover, Schutt scored again on a feed from Jake Hanson. All of a sudden, Aurora Christian was up 66-48 and the Eagle fans could breathe more easily.

“They’re a well-coached team with some good players. We knew they were going to make a run, but it was a better run than I would have liked,” said Aurora Christian coach Steven Hanson. “Give our kids credit — they kept their composure, kept playing, and executed well. I figured CJ would be a tough matchup, since they didn’t have anybody who could handle him.”

The Eagles followed up their eight-trey performance on Tuesday by hitting nine from behind the arc against Marian Central. Harrell and Hanson each had a trio of three-pointers, finishing with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

With the Hurricanes (2-19 overall, 0-7 conference) struggling with 8-of-29 shooting in the first half, including a number of good looks at the basket, Aurora Christian got off to a hot start and never trailed. Cory Windle’s three-pointer gave the Eagles a 20-4 lead late in the first period.

Aurora Christian shot well early, hitting 15 of their 25 shots before the intermission (29 of 50 for the game).

“They (the Eagles) came out shooting the ball well, and we didn’t,” said Marian Central coach and former DePaul star Curtis Price. “We were able to get some pressure on them and get back in the game, but it’s hard to dig out of a hole like that.”

Ryan McQuade hit double figures for the Eagles with 10 points on two three-pointers, while Windle added seven points. Harrell was a presence on the glass with eight rebounds.