AURORA | Leonard Hurst was sick when Aurora Central dropped an EMAC stunner to Brighton in late January.
The Trojans clearly missed the little things the 6-foot-1 senior adds to their dynamic, but they had them Tuesday night.
Hurst tipped in a Tyler Stephenson miss with 25 seconds remaining, then blocked a tying 3-pointer attempt by Rangeview’s Jeremiah Paige at the buzzer as Aurora Central prevailed 56-53 in a showdown of Aurora Public Schools rivals at Rangeview.
Hurst finished with eight points and eight rebounds, Carlton Hurst added 21 points and Stephenson had 13 as the Trojans knocked the Raiders out of sole possession of first place in the league standings. Aurora Central (14-6) improved to 5-1 in EMAC play, while Rangeview (14-4) dropped to 4-1.
Larry Bridges had 18 points, Paige added 14 and Trey Bridges had 11 — nine in the fourth quarter — for Rangeview, which won by 12 points when the teams faced off in the opening game of the season.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
AURORA CENTRAL 56, RANGEVIEW 53
Score by quarters:
Aurora Central 10 10 20 16 — 56
Rangeview 15 4 13 21 — 53
AURORA CENTRAL (56)
LaDarius Thomas 2 4-6 8, Carlton Hurst 5 10-12 21, Leonard Hurst 2 4-4 8, Tyler Stephenson 4 3-4 13, Kavion Mason 1 0-1 2, Marcus Triplett 0 2-2 2, A’Deril Agnew 0 0-0 0, Levi Watson 1 0-2 2. Totals 15 23-31 56.
RANGEVIEW (53)
Trey Bridges 2 7-9 11, Larry Bridges 6 4-5 18, Dezant Burks 1 0-2 2, Tim Ealy 3 2-2 8, Jeremiah Paige 4 4-4 14, Tarren Storey-Way 0 0-0 0, Cristian Garcia 0 0-3 0, Jalen Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 17-25 53.
3-point field goals — Aurora Central (3): Tyler Stephenson 2, Carlton Hurst; Rangeview (4): Larry Bridges 2, Jeremiah Paige 2. Total fouls — Aurora Central 21, Rangeview 22. Fouled out — Aurora Central: Kavion Mason, Levi Watson; Rangeview: Dezant Burks, Tarren Storey-Way. Technical fouls — Rangeview: Burks.
