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Naperville North rallies to beat Naperville Central

Outright champion or not, Naperville North's boys basketball team still has unfinished business in the DuPage Valley Conference.

It started with Tuesday's cross-town game at Naperville Central.

Rallying from an 11-point first-half deficit and a 6-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter, Naperville North held on for Tuesday's 55-52 victory over the Redhawks.

The finish came down to the Huskies' defense. From Cam Hardy to Chris Johnson, Winston Elston and Mitch Lewis, everyone chipped in with a clutch defensive play.

"I just tried to do whatever I could to get my team in a winning position," said Hardy, who matched Lewis with a team-high 18 points. "Beating Central twice, it's a good feeling. But they came out strong. We just needed to step up."

Back-to-back Naperville Central turnovers allowed the Huskies (20-4, 13-1) to come back from the 6-point fourth-quarter deficit. Two more turnovers in the final minute put Naperville North ahead to stay.

First came Johnson's steal that ended up in Hardy's hands. Hardy fed Lewis for a layup and a 53-52 Naperville North lead with 17 seconds left. With less than 10 seconds to play, Elston stripped the ball in a play that ended up with a jump ball and Huskies' possession.

Lewis was fouled on the inbounds play and knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 55-52 with 8.6 seconds left. Naperville Central's 3-point attempt in the waning seconds went off the mark.

"We were playing well throughout the whole game," said Redhawks guard Matt Meier, who led all scorers with 19 points. "We've got to be able to finish games like that."

Naperville Central (14-10, 8-6) surged to leads of 12-3 and 20-9 before Hardy's four second-quarter 3-pointers brought back the Huskies. Naperville North took its first lead at 32-31 early in the third quarter.

"I thought we played awfully well until we made a few mistakes down the stretch," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "But I'm very proud of our kids. We were ready to go."

With 15 wins in 17 games, Naperville North's put itself in prime position for a top-two seed at the Class 4A East Aurora sectional. Seeding will be announced Thursday and pairings Friday.

"Our kids willed this one out, and that was pretty neat to see," said Huskies coach Jeff Powers.

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