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Elston steps up, Naperville North steps past Neuqua Valley

Last year this might have been a game that Naperville North lost.

"We started a lot of juniors, a lot of younger guys last year," said Naperville North coach Jeff Powers. "A game like this last year might have gotten away from us. But these kids have all played and they understand they need to keep battling, they need to keep doing the right things."

Trailing 36-31 with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter after leading by as many as 9 points in the first half, the Huskies went on a 29-8 run over the next 9:48 to defeat Neuqua Valley 61-46 Tuesday in the 11th annual Hoops for Healing at Naperville North.

Five-foot-8 junior Winston Elston led Naperville North (2-0) with a personal-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the 3-point line.

"Last year 10 points was my high," he said. "This year I feel like I need to shoulder more of the scoring load. I consider myself a shooter, but if my shot is off, I can also drive to the basket."

Naperville North had its way with Neuqua Valley early, building a 16-7 lead with 6:33 remaining in the first half when TJ Agyakye saved an errant 3-pointer from going out of bounds and found Elston underneath the basket for a layup.

But Neuqua Valley (0-2) answered with a 17-7 run that featured two 3-pointers by Blaise Meredith and 4 points from 6-4 senior Andrew Clark before Colin Hassett beat the halftime buzzer with a 15-footer to give the hosts a 25-24 advantage.

The Huskies' halftime lead was short lived, however, and Joe Sieger's 3-pointer gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game before Naperville North began mounting its comeback.

"We got down, but mentally we never felt like we were out of the game," Naperville North's Jelani McClain said. "We're going to fight to the end. I think that's a credit to our off-season work. We worked hard to make sure we could be tougher than the other team in the fourth quarter."

McClain had a stellar all-around game for the Huskies with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Junior Tyler Carlson also reached double figures with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from 3-point distance.

Sieger led Neuqua Valley with 11 points and 6-7 junior Alex Filo added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"You have to run an offense, you have to execute, and you've got to play defense," said Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton. "It wasn't what they did, it was what we didn't do. We didn't execute, we took a lot of bad shots, and we broke down on defense. The better team won."

Earlier at Naperville North, Hinsdale Central (1-1) got 12 points from Peter Blust in a 37-31 victory over Oswego East (1-1).

  Tyler Carlson of Naperville North moves the ball around Andrew Clark of Neuqua during the Hoops for Healing Tournament Tuesday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Joe Sieger of Neuqua,left, and Tyler Carlson of Naperville North vie for a rebound at the Hoops for Healing Tournament Tuesday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
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