Naperville North's Williams brothers double-team Metea Valley

That's the thing about Naperville North's Williams brothers - they know how to divide and conquer.

Senior Zeke Williams scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half Friday against Metea Valley, then turned things over to his sophomore brother, Luke, who poured in 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

The result was a resounding 57-42 Huskies' win, despite the fact that the game was essentially even midway through the third quarter.

"The Williams boys did what they do," Metea Valley coach Matt Logan said. "Luke had a great game, he dominated the second half, and Zeke did what he did in the first half. That's a tough one-two combo, and you just have to sometimes give credit to the opponent."

Zeke Williams scored four of his five first-half field goals in the paint, working hard despite being constantly double-teamed. Despite his efforts, Naperville North only held a 26-24 halftime lead.

The two teams traded baskets through the first 5:21 of the third quarter, but that was the time Luke Williams got hot.

He had already canned a 3-pointer earlier in the period, but hit another from the right arc at 2:23, which was followed less than a minute later by a bucket from his brother.

That was the beginning of a 14-0 run that put the game away for Naperville North, which climbed back to .500 at 14-14 (4-5 DuPage Valley Conference).

Want more Luke? He hit yet another 3-pointer, this time from the top of the key, at 6:09 of the fourth quarter, then closed the run at 4:29 with a layup from courtesy of an assist from his brother.

"He's really taking and soaking it in and putting it in his own game," Zeke Williams said of his little brother. "As you saw today, he got hot and when he does that, all I can do is sit back and watch."

While Zeke is an amiable sort, Luke is a little more stoic. Sure, he scored 24, but you wouldn't have known it postgame.

"Getting shots in the second half, it's just my teammates getting me open, if I don't have it, it gets somebody else open," he said, though he made it clear that the win was a big one at this point of the season, mostly because Metea Valley has been a tough out of late.

"It's our second-to-last conference game, going into Waubonsie, and so we know that they were a better team than they were earlier in the season, coming off of COVID," he said.

Indeed. If you want to talk about effectiveness from 3-point-land, look no further than Metea Valley sophomore guard Nick Schroeder, who hit on four of them Friday, three in the first half. He ended up with 14 points.

"Unfortunately for him, he had injuries in the beginning of the year, and had other things go on," Logan said. "He played great in the summer, and he just hasn't been able to show it until he's gotten healthy. So now that he's healthy, he's got his confidence back."

Senior forward Charlie Nosek added 7 points and 3 rebounds for Metea Valley (9-20, 1-8).

"I've just been so impressed with their team and how much they have improved," Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said of the Mustangs. "We feel very fortunate. This is a very difficult place to come and get a win."