Anthony, Brcka pick up scoring role for Wheaton North
Naperville Central pulled off an impressive feat Friday night by holding Wheaton North star Rowan McGowen scoreless.
It didn't do the Redhawks much good.
Luke Anthony poured in a game-high 24 points and fellow senior guard Matt Brcka came off the bench to tally 15 points as the host Falcons knocked off Naperville Central 57-46 in DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball action.
"He played great and we needed it," Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann said of Brcka. "They were really keying on Rowan tonight and the sign of a good team is different guys being able to step up.
"Rowan didn't score tonight, which is a rarity. He did a lot of other good things for us and other guys were able to step up."
The 6-foot-4 Brcka scored 9 points in the first half, including 6 straight during a 14-1 run in the second quarter that gave the Falcons (13-4, 5-2) a 32-21 lead.
"They were just keying on Luke and Rowan, like most teams do, so I was just able to find the open spot and go there," Brcka said. "Then Luke and Rowan, they're great passers, so they look to find the open man."
Brcka shot 5 for 9 and made all five of his free-throw attempts. He also contributed 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
"To start the year I was coming off as more of a scorer and I feel like I've developed my game," Brcka said. "So I'm better on the defensive end now."
The Falcons were certainly good defensively in the first half, forcing 12 turnovers. Anthony, who drained four 3-pointers, had all 5 of his steals before the break.
That cushion proved crucial when the Redhawks (5-12, 0-7) rallied in the third quarter behind senior guard Patrick Meier, who tallied a personal-high 15 points, including a layup that cut the gap to 36-33 with 1:29 left in the period.
But the Falcons answered by scoring the next 7 points as Anthony scored on a twisting layup and then Michael Gehl tipped in a miss by Brcka to end the third quarter.
Anthony and Brcka combined to record the final 14 points for the Falcons.
"It was unbelievable," Brcka said. "At the start of the second half, they cut it to 3 and then we just pushed it up to 10 to 15. (It was) just ball movement and defense to keep up the pressure."
Ben Wolf had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Redhawks, who have lost eight games by 11 or fewer points. Nick Kramer added 8 points and Noah Swope 7 in defeat.
"We've been having trouble finishing (games)," Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. "We'll keep continuing to battle and play as a team. These kids will never quit.
"It's not their effort. We just need to execute a little bit better."
Brackmann was glad his team did just that.
"They've got some good talent on that team and we knew we had to play well to win," Brackmann said. "They made some runs and it was nice that we responded with some runs of our own."