Hinsdale Central overcomes Naperville Central

If Hinsdale Central's boys basketball team had any trouble getting its feet back on the ground after Friday's electrifying win over Lyons Twp., Naperville Central took care of that real quick.

The Redhawks challenged with a deliberate pace that at times pushed the limits of frustration, but Hinsdale Central pulled away late for Saturday's 39-33 nonconference victory in Naperville.

Combined with Friday's rivalry win in front of a packed house, it turned into a pretty nice weekend for the surging Red Devils.

"It's pretty crazy after being in an atmosphere like last night - 4,000-plus being in the gym," said Red Devils senior Grant Hutcherson. "We were able to come here into a much different environment than last night, but able to pull off another win."

From the opening tip, Naperville Central (10-7) showed its intention to slow down the game as much as possible and limit potent Hinsdale Central's possessions. The strategy worked for most of the game, with the Redhawks' Emmanuel Rugamba and Nate Dahl leading the way to 4-point leads in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter, however, belonged to Hinsdale Central (13-2). Even without a packed gym to provide the energy of the night before, the Red Devils turned it up a notch on both ends.

Matthew Meier scored to put Naperville Central ahead 30-28 with 6:10 left, but Hinsdale Central closed the game on an 11-3 run while holding the Redhawks scoreless for more than five minutes. Hutcherson, who scored 11 points, came off the bench to score the Red Devils' final 8 points, including four straight free throws in the final minute.

"I thought our kids executed great all night long," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "I thought we defended them pretty well, the way we wanted to. And I thought we controlled the game for the most part."

Meier scored 10 points to lead Naperville Central, playing its first game since Dec. 27, while Rugamba added 9 bench points. Thomas Ives scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter and Matt Rafferty had 9 points for Hinsdale Central.

"It's a team in our sectional, so we needed to be prepared," said Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre. "There were no excuses, no letdowns. Our focus was just executing and playing as hard as we possibly could."

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