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St. Patrick's late 3-pointers edge Naperville North

For the most part Naperville North's defense did its job on Thursday.

But St. Patrick's perimeter players got hot when it counted, with the Shamrocks hitting their last three 3-pointers to steal a 48-47 victory in the first round of the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

The Huskies (5-6) will play in the consolation bracket, where they take on Glenbard East at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

The Huskies played zone defense for all but one possession, holding the Shamrocks to a 5-for-23 effort from the 3-point line until the final two-plus minutes when St. Patrick connected on its last three attempts in a three-possession span. St. Patrick guard Caleb Corro hit two 3s and Timaris Brown added another from the wing in the pivotal, game-turning stretch late in the fourth.

"You have to give credit to St. Patrick," Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said. "It was a gritty effort by both teams, but St. Patrick made some big shots late. I was really proud of our effort. I thought we defended well and closed out on shooters well. There were a few plays, here and there, that we would like to get back. They just made some tough shots late in the game."

The Huskies missed their last two 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer, to suffer the loss. Grant Johnson paced the Huskies with 16 points and 8 rebounds and Riley Thompson was 3 for 6 on 3-pointers for 15 points.

"We're getting better," Nolan said. "We've improved and looking forward to the rest of the tournament. Riley had a good game. We've had games where we haven't shot good, so I'm happy with that."

The Huskies finished 10 for 22 on 3s, but couldn't close out in the fourth quarter after building a 25-15 lead at halftime and carrying a 37-26 advantage following a basket by Michael Imhoff with just over two minutes left in the third.

Thompson was a big factor in helping the Huskies race out to a double-digit lead in the first half. He made two 3s in a 25-second span to give the Huskies a 9-0 lead. The Shamrocks played zone defenses all game, and the Huskies made them pay with solid perimeter shooting for the first 30 minutes.

Thompson said he feels fresh this season after playing football for the first time a year ago. He elected to not play this fall.

"I was able to find my shots against them," Thompson said. "Coming off where I just had to workout and play just basketball felt really good. I was able to get back into the swing of things in basketball faster this year."

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