Reng, Wheaton North ring up victory against Hinsdale Central

Foul trouble is nothing new to Deng Reng.

Neither is overcoming it.

Reng scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Falcons to Friday's 60-52 nonconference victory over visiting Hinsdale Central.

The 6-foot-8 senior wing knocked down 10 of 11 free throws in the final period, which wasn't easy. Reng picked up his fourth foul with 3:53 left and spent the rest of the game leaving on defense and coming off the bench to play offense.

The trips on and off the bench easily could have messed with Reng's rhythm but didn't.

"I just didn't want to let (the foul trouble) get to my head," said Reng, who made 13 of 15 free throws for the game. "The team needed me down the stretch so I just had to do the best I could helping the team out. It's a rhythm thing. If you want to win a game down the stretch, you have to make some clutch free throws."

Hinsdale Central (5-13) chopped a 10-point deficit down to 39-38 on Matt Rush's 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter. The Red Devils committed only 10 turnovers in the game, but a couple arrived at the start of the fourth quarter to halt the rally and put Wheaton North (12-7) back in control.

As tight as the game was throughout, though, a 3-pointer by Jacob Schauer at the start of the second quarter actually gave the Falcons the lead for good. A 9-2 fourth-quarter run brought some breathing room.

"I thought both teams played exceptionally hard," said Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre. "We had too many small mental breakdowns here and there. Against a good team like Wheaton North, you can't do that."

Schauer and Garrett Horner had 11 points apiece for Wheaton North. Rush led Hinsdale Central with 13 points while Ryan Isaacson had 10 points off the bench.

"We knew this was going to be tough," said Falcons coach Dave Brackmann. "Probably the best part of the game for me was that every time they made a run, we responded."

Twitter: @kevin_schmit