Fast start, slow finish, but Naperville North hangs on against Naperville Central
Winston Elston and his Naperville North teammates could not have scripted a better start Friday against visiting Naperville Central.
Elston, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, scored 7 quick points and Naperville North used an 11-0 run spanning 6:53 of the first and second quarters to build a 20-10 lead.
But the Huskies only managed 20 points over the next 21 minutes, and it wasn't until Elston buried two free throws with 31.8 seconds remaining that Naperville North fans could breathe easier.
North won the battle of Napervilles 40-36 to retain a share of the DuPage Valley Conference lead.
Elston led Naperville North (12-3, 5-1) with 11 points. Mitch Lewis had 10 points and 5 rebounds off the bench and Jelani McClain added 8 points in the low-scoring but nerve-wracking affair.
"We stopped trying to score," Elston said. "We slowed the ball up, which is not really our game. We have to keep pushing the ball and keep pushing it down their throats and we'll be fine. When we slow it down, we don't play as well."
Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said both team's defenses were responsible for the lack of scoring.
"(The Redhawks) were very good today," he said. "They took us out of a lot of things offensively. But I thought our kids did a great job defensively, too, especially in the second half. We made a couple of minor adjustments to slow down (Naperville Central's Matthew) Meier.
"Both teams were playing so stinking hard," he added. "Meier and (Harrison) Hallstrom are such great players. They just refuse to lose. That's why the games are always so great."
Naperville Central (9-6, 4-2), which still trailed by 9 points late in the third quarter, got within 37-34 with 2:46 remaining on a Meier 3-pointer. But the Redhawks could not get any closer thanks to two turnovers and a Lewis steal, and Elston's two free throws gave the Huskies a 39-34 cushion.
Meier led Naperville Central with 18 points. No other Redhawk reached double figures.
"We just struggled executing our offense in the second half," Meier said. "Really, the whole game. That's something we'll work on. We know we can play better than we did. We just have to get back to work and get a win under our belts."
The loss was the fourth in a row for Naperville Central, which will try to snap its losing streak Tuesday at Plainfield East.
"The coaches say there are going to be times when you go through a slump," Meier said. "We just have to keep working, keep grinding. There's still a lot of the season left. Tuesday's game is big for us. We need to get one under our belts and get our confidence back."