Naperville North responds to Wheaton North
How big of a lead is big enough?
Naperville North's boys basketball team hoped it wouldn't have to test the answer in Friday's game against visiting Wheaton North.
Although a 16-point third-quarter lead nearly faded completely, the Huskies managed to hold on for a 59-52 DuPage Valley Conference victory.
“You always expect a team to make one run in a game, so we knew that was their run,” said Huskies forward Matt LaCosse. “They're definitely a good shooting team, one of the best in the DVC. It didn't surprise me that they were making the run, I was just wondering how big of a run it was going to be.
“I like the way we responded,” he said.
In a game of responses, Naperville North (8-7, 4-2) definitely spoke loudest at the end.
Three straight Jovonn Griffin baskets gave the Huskies their biggest lead of 38-22 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Wheaton North (8-7, 2-4) chipped away behind Jeff Schalk's 9 third-quarter points, and the Falcons nearly completed the rally late in the fourth quarter.
A Richard Finley 3-pointer, a pair of free throws by Nick Barry and a steal and basket by Schalk narrowed the margin to 52-50 with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left.
Griffin, however, scored the next 7 points to extend the lead to 59-50 in the final half minute.
Griffin, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 45 seconds.
“We thought in the first half we did not play as well, as hard, as smart as we can,” said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos, whose team trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. “In the second half I thought we were a step up defensively. We rebounded better. I thought we did a lot of things smarter as well as harder.”
After Naperville North's 11-0 run created an early 13-7 lead, Finley scored at the start of the second quarter to give the Falcons their last lead of 14-13. A 17-2 Huskies run built a 30-16 advantage.
Finley scored 14 points to lead Wheaton North while Barry had 13 points and Schalk 11 points. LaCosse had 14 points and 10 rebounds, with Matt Stacho pitching in 10 points for the Huskies.
“We said that we've got to really hunker down defensively, and I though we did a pretty good job there,” said Huskies coach Jeff Powers.