Wheaton North @ Naperville Central

Wheaton North (13-3, 5-1) at Naperville Central (11-6, 4-2)

West Aurora snagged sole possession of first place in the DuPage Valley Conference with last week's win at Wheaton North. If the Falcons and Naperville Central want to stay within striking distance of the Blackhawks, a win tonight certainly would help. Defending their home court, especially with West Aurora coming to Naperville next weekend, is the prime goal for the Redhawks. To do it they'll need to take care of the ball with leading scorer Drew Crawford and Danny Ondik. They'll also need to rebound as a team, led by Matt Neufeld and Matt Jones, and take scoring pressure off Crawford. A key player in that role is Harrison Daniels on the perimeter. Winners of four straight in the DVC, the Redhawks hope to end the first half of league play with a win over the Falcons, who aim to remain the lone conference team within a game of first place. Last week's 4-of-21 3-point shooting doomed Wheaton North against West Aurora, although 6-foot-7 John Bagge and 6-8 Tom Fitzpatrick combined for 33 points in the overtime loss that broke an eight-game winning streak. While the Falcons no doubt will try to exploit their size advantage tonight, they'll also look to regain the outside shooting touch of Dave Pilalis, Kristian Rosenberger and Steve Pierotti.