Could East Aurora’s Jamir Malone be back where he belongs?
It appears so.
A 6-foot sophomore guard, Malone returned to the city for this school year with his family’s move back to Illinois from Arizona. They had gone west when Jamir was in fifth grade.
Malone, one of seven newcomers for the Tomcats at the start of what has become a somewhat tumultuous season, has settled in nicely after making the jump to varsity.
“We pretty much had an almost new team,” Malone said. “Before the season started, we were like hanging out, bonding and trying to get our team chemistry up.
“I’m not gonna lie, I was definitely surprised I’m a starter because I’m an underclassmen as a sophomore on a team with a lot of juniors. It’s been really fun, being able to build relationships with the guys and coaches.”
The fun continued Monday, but the Tomcats had to survive some tense moments before squeaking past visiting Aurora Central Catholic for a 63-61 nonconference win at Ernie Kivisto Gymnasium.
Malone, who earned a starting job in the preseason and hasn’t given it up, did his part by scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds with two steals for East Aurora (11-13).
He had played on the freshman team last season at his school in Arizona.
“The kid works extremely hard and he’s the first guy in to practice and always asking, ‘What can I do to get better, coach?’” said new East Aurora coach J’son Sanders said.
Sanders, an assistant to coach Rick Robinson, took over in an interim role in late December when Robinson was suspended. Robinson was relieved of his coaching duties and Sanders named his successor at a Jan. 20 school board meeting.
“Jamir is an amazing kid and fierce competitor,” Sanders said. “He’s happy to take over when needs to and I’m blessed to have him for two more years.”
ACC (10-14) led by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter on strong 3-point shooting, sparked by junior guard Nick Czerak with game highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“This is a special gym to play in — a shooter’s gym,” ACC coach Josh Izzo said. “I’ve seen guys drop 50 here and I told Nick, ‘Don’t be shy.’ I was hoping he could do something like that.”
The Tomcats reeled off a 17-2 spurt over four minutes of the second quarter and the teams were tied at 32-32 at halftime.
They traded leads in the second half, with East Aurora holding on by making 6 of 9 free throws in the final minute, the final three from junior point guard Daivon Douglas to decide it.
Junior forward Casston Cross led the Tomcats with 19 points and freshman guard Mosiah Tang scored 10 off the bench. Junior center Braden Dillon added 16 points off the bench for ACC and junior guard Marcus McGill had 11.
“Defense was the key for us, switching it up a couple times,” Sanders said. “That and finally switching from jump shots to taking it to the rim.”
Sanders was well aware of what Czerak could do.
“I used to coach Nick from like fifth to eighth grade in an ACC feeder program,” Sanders said. “He’s an amazing player. We were just trying to keep him contained.”
East Aurora returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday playing host to crosstown rival West Aurora in an Upstate Eight West rematch of a Jan. 9 matchup won 80-52 by the Blackhawks.
The game has special meaning for Malone, whose grandfather, James, played for West Aurora’s 1980 team that took third in the state in Class AA. His dad, James Jr., and uncle, Jordan, both played for East Aurora.
“That first game was fun even though we lost because I’ve got history,” Jamir said. “My grandpa just told me to play hard before the first one.”
His focus this time?
“Revenge.”
