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Boys Basketball: Naperville North takes care of rival Naperville Central
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: February 18, 2012 11:16PM
Striking an effective and consistent balance on offense can make a team very difficult to play.
A suffocating and relentless effort on the defensive end of the floor certainly doesn’t hurt either.
Epitomizing why it had recorded 17 victories on the year coming into Saturday night, Naperville North used both of those elements in fine fashion on its way to cruising to a 55-39 victory over host Naperville Central on Saturday night in Naperville.
Showing why it’s a team that doesn’t have a single player averaging double-digit points, 10 different Huskies scored, with seniors Matt Stacho and Mike Keane being the only two to reach double figures on either team with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“Yeah, it’s been great just because if you have a bad night, others will pick up the slack for you,” Stacho said. “That’s what I love about our team. It’s so great to share the ball and everyone gets in, so it’s awesome.”
After carrying a 7-4 lead into the second quarter, Naperville North increased its advantage to 16-8 midway through the second quarter before seeing the Redhawks get to within two points, courtesy of a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Austin Pauga and senior Ian Lewandowski and prompt a Naperville North timeout in the process.
The Huskies responded by going on a 13-0 run, spanning the end of the first half into the start of the third quarter, to build their lead to 15 points — effectively ending the night’s suspense.
“I think the balanced scoring was great, but I think the way we played defense (Saturday night was the difference) and we executed what (assistant) coach (Steve) Madden put in the game plan,” Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said. “It was his scout. He put in an excellent game plan to stop their stuff. We really highlighted on stopping their three-point shooters. I think we did an outstanding job and that’s a credit to coach Madden getting the guys ready.”
In getting its second straight victory over its crosstown rival and defeating Naperville Central twice in a season for the first time since the 2005-06 season, Naperville North (18-7, 11-2 DuPage Valley) kept alive its dreams of winning at least a share of its first league title since the 1997-98 season.
With only Wednesday’s regular-season finale at home against Glenbard North remaining, the Huskies are tied atop the conference with West Aurora, which travels to Glenbard East on Wednesday to conclude its regular season.
The rivalry with Naperville Central aside, the desire to put their 64-53 loss at home to West Aurora one night earlier was chief on the Huskies’ minds.
“It was everything to us. We need both these wins and we got one more on Wednesday and try and tie for a conference championship,” Stacho said. “It’s great to get this one off our back.”
Playing without sophomore center Nick Czarnowski for the second straight night, Naperville Central (14-11, 5-8) struggled mightily offensively without its focal point in the midst of dealing with a superior defensive team.
A night after pacing the Redhawks with 16 points in their one-point loss to Wheaton North, Mike Blaszczyk once again led the Redhawks, who scored no more than 10 points in either of the first two quarters, in scoring with eight points.
“Because (Czarnowski) isn’t in the middle, we don’t get the looks that we’re used to getting,” Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. “Now everybody’s playing a little bit tighter on the perimeter. We didn’t attack the basket (Saturday night) at all. Maybe it was (Naperville North’s) defense.
“I just thought we played with little energy and very little intensity, when it comes to an arch-rival game. It didn’t even feel like a Naperville North-Naperville Central game. (The Huskies) are a good team, though. They did a lot of good things (Saturday night) and credit them. They made us play not very well.”
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