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It's not pretty, but Lake Park defeats Naperville North

Conference play isn't always pretty, but the Lake Park boys basketball team will certainly take its 40-29 victory over Naperville North.

The Lancers' 17-point second quarter was the big difference against a Huskies team that uncharacteristically struggled in the DuPage Valley Conference opener at Lake Park on Friday.

"The first three quarters we played like an experienced team with seven seniors," said Lancers coach Josh Virostko. "We guarded, we did what we wanted to do, we took them out of some things, but I think in the fourth quarter we acted like a team with a bunch of sophomores. That's not acceptable right now because Naperville North didn't quit … if they hit some 3s, it's a different game."

The first quarter had the closeness of a DVC match as Lake Park (5-1, 1-0) narrowly had a 9-8 lead going into the second.

Heading into the second quarter, Virostko just wanted his team to calm down and stick to the basics, and that's just what happened.

With two 3-pointers from Tim Weiss paired with three-point plays from both Stefan Meccia and Marcus McDaniel, and the Lancers broke the game open and headed into halftime up 26-16. McDaniel finished the game with a team-high 9 points.

"Second quarter I think the key was that we relaxed," Virostko said. "I think the first quarter we came with a lot of energy, but you have to have it controlled… . We calmed down and we executed. The execution was better. The first quarter was just all kind of running around crazy."

Set up to respond to the Lancers run after the halftime, the Huskies (2-3, 0-1) continued to struggle. The only bright spot was senior guard/forward Baylor Griffin, who had 6 points in the first half, finishing with a game-high 11 points.

Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said the Huskies couldn't shake the high pressure Lake Park defense.

"Their defense was very, very good and we played right into their defense," Powers said. "We did not do any of the things that we worked on all this week. They physically and mentally beat us up … . We shot 8-32 from the field. I mean our defense was OK, but you're not gonna win too many games there."

Along with the struggles from the floor, Naperville North went 12 of 22 from the free-throw line and just 1 of 12 from behind the arc.

"If we're going to have an identity, we're going to be a high-energy defensive team," Virostko said. "I think we did that and tonight that was enough. When you play against really good teams it's not going to be enough, you're going to have to do more."

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