Naperville Central finds way to hold off Glenbard North

If you're looking to restore order, get it to your guys.

That's exactly what Naperville Central's boys basketball team did on Tuesday, keeping the ball in the hands of Cam Dougherty and Chris Conway to lock down a 57-49 nonconference victory over Glenbard North in Carol Stream.

As the Panthers (4-11) whittled down a 14-point third-quarter deficit to 2 points, thanks in part to consecutive 3-pointers from Owen Van Poucke, 6-foot-9 Conway and Dougherty scored 9 straight points for the Redhawks (11-2).

Thanks to the third-year starters thwarting the run, Glenbard North never tied it. Naperville Central led wire-to-wire.

"We did what we needed to do to win, and that's what's important," said Dougherty, who led all scorers with 18 points. "It was a tough situation to come in and win, but we got it done. We kept our composure and we were able to regroup."

A 12-4 second-quarter run pushed Naperville Central's lead to double digits, but the Panthers started making shots in the third quarter. Their 7 field goals that period matched their first-half total.

Five players scored during Glenbard North's 16-4 run that nearly brought the Panthers all the way back.

"Second half I thought we were very efficient for the most part," said Glenbard North coach Joe Larson. "We've got to make some of those plays in that stretch where we cut the lead down. But I thought offensively we played with more composure and maturity in the second half."

Even though the Redhawks didn't knock down a 3-pointer, they did enjoy a 29-2 free-throw advantage and made 23 attempts from the line. Five players hit fourth-quarter free throws, including 5-of-6 shooting by Aidan Kramer.

Matt Murray's 3-pointer narrowed the margin to 44-41 with about four minutes to play, but Naperville Central began sealing the win at the line.

Jake Cicero scored 12 points for the Panthers while Rory Hills added 10 points. Conway had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks while Kyle Baskin scored 10 points off the bench for the Redhawks.

"Our last six or seven possessions, everything was designed for (Dougherty and Conway) to either score or make the decision," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "Chris and Cam, they've been through it."

Twitter: @kevin_schmit