Wheaton North keeps rolling
There were times in the first half of Friday night's Wheaton North vs. Glenbard North boys basketball game when the Falcons appeared to be beating their opponent to every spot.
Over the first two periods, the hosts turned the Panthers over 12 times, drew three charges, allowed no trips to the free-throw line and held the visitors to 6-of-21 shooting. They raced to a 32-15 halftime lead before ultimately cruising to a 65-51 victory.
It was 10th win in 11 games for Wheaton North (16-4, 5-2) and it kept the Falcons in the race for a DuPage Valley Conference crown.
"We came out wanting to pressure them and hoping that our defense would lead to some offense," Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann said after the win. "We knew they were going to try to take it to the basket hard, and our goal was to take two or more charges. I think we had three."
Wheaton North jumped out to a big lead on its conference rival early, scoring the game's first 9 points and eventually taking a 22-10 lead at the end of one quarter. Senior center Jake Heggeland was a big piece of the Falcons offense in the early going, scoring 8 of his team-high 16 points in the first quarter.
"We were able to get the ball inside early, and that helped us. So it was good to start the game well," Brackmann said.
In the second half it appeared as if it'd be more of the same for Wheaton North. Senior forward Nick Jordan poured in 7 of his 14 points in the third period, as the Falcons increased their lead to 53-28 heading into the fourth.
At that point it'd have been easy for Glenbard North (3-16, 0-7) to pack it in, but they fought hard, chipping away at the big Wheaton North lead.
"I thought turnovers were a big problem for us in the first half. We were playing in too much of a hurry," Panthers coach Joe Larson said. "But I'm proud of the guys. They kept battling and we're getting better. Every game is a learning experience and obviously we're pretty young."
Junior guard Nick Lavere scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the second half for Glenbard North. Point guard Michael Matkovic chipped in 12 points and 7 assists for the Panthers.
Kar Reng and Luke Anthony scored 10 points apiece for Wheaton North to put four Falcons in double-figure scoring.