Naperville Central edges West Aurora

With the gym mostly empty, Bob Sterr declared Friday night that "there was never a doubt."

It was easy for the smiling former head coach - now an assistant for Naperville Central - to make that statement after the Redhawks pulled out a thrilling 50-47 DuPage Valley Conference win over visiting West Aurora.

But truth be told, the outcome was surely up in the air for much of the second half and the game was even tied at 47-47 following a clutch 3-pointer by Blackhawks sophomore Juwan Starks, who finished with a game-high 21 points. But following Starks' tying basket with 22 seconds left to play, Redhawks point guard Mike Schremp drove to the basket hoping to at least get a foul call.

After all he was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line on the night and withstood plenty of defensive pressure from West Aurora's trapping defense in the second half. Schremp, however, didn't get his shot to fall nor did he get a whistle from the refs.

What Naperville Central did get was even better, though, as Matt Neufeld soared in for an offensive rebound and put-back while getting fouled. He finished off the three-point play with just nine seconds left and when D.J. Vaughn's last-second 3 attempt hit off the rim, the Redhawks (13-7, 5-3) had snapped a two-game skid.

"He saw a lane and he took it. I was surprised he got it over everybody," Neufeld said of Schremp's late drive. "Luckily I got in there and it bounced my way. I just tried to finish.

"The way this ended it was definitely one of the better games I've been in."

Redhawks coach Pete Kramer said it was a much-needed win and that huge putbacks by Neufeld and David Niggins sparked the squad but that Schremp's play really made the difference.

"I thought Mike Schremp grew up tonight," he said of his junior point guard, who finished with 12 points, including 6 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter. "He didn't come out much tonight and he handled all of their pressure."

Naperville Central jumped ahead 17-12 after one quarter as Niggins hit a pair of 3s and Bobby Czarnowski had a 3 and a steal and dunk. But Starks hit a 3 late in the quarter to keep West Aurora (8-10, 3-5) close and added a basket in the second quarter as the visitors closed to within 24-21 at the half.

With Naperville Central ahead 42-40 and two minutes left to play, Niggins soared in on a missed 3-point shot by Czarnowski and slammed home the rebound for a critical late basket. The Blackhawks still managed to draw even following Starks' second 3 of the night, but in the hand it was a pair of key offensive rebounds by the Redhawks that did in the Blackhawks.

"I can't complain about how hard the kids played. They battled," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "But those two big offensive rebounds killed us."

Starks said he believes his team will learn a few things from the tough loss.

"We just need to come out harder and we need to box out and do all the little stuff," he said. "When it counts, you've just got to box out any man. Now we know what we need to do to win these games."