Naperville Central 47, Naperville North 34
No buzzer-beating, game-winning shot this time.
No need.
Naperville Central continued on its near two-month roll, controlling virtually the entire final three quarters in a 47-34 boys basketball victory Friday in front of a huge crowd at Naperville North.
The Redhawks (16-6, 8-2), with the rest of the DuPage Valley Conference idle because of Thursday's snowstorm, are a half-game ahead of West Aurora and Wheaton North atop the DVC standings pending the outcome of their rescheduled games.
Naperville Central has won 12 of its last 14 games, including eight straight in the DVC. Fittingly, the streak began with the first meeting with the Huskies on Dec. 14, a 43-42 decision won by the Redhawks on Drew Crawford's last-second jumper.
"This just keeps us going, keeps us in the flow," said Naperville Central sophomore center Matt Neufeld, who led the Redhawks with 10 points and 7 rebounds. "Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going through the rest of the season."
Both teams struggled on offense -- especially early in the game while trying to settle the cross-town jitters. Crawford, who battled foul trouble all night before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter, scored all 9 of his points in the second quarter as the Redhawks built a 25-15 halftime lead.
Naperville Central finally found an offensive flow early in the third quarter with numerous easy buckets. An 8-2 run put the Redhawks ahead 33-17 late in the frame.
Naperville North (8-14, 3-7), coming off Tuesday's upset win at West Aurora, arose with a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Sparked by a pair of Austin Weiss baskets and another by Joe McNicholas, the Huskies pulled within 35-26.
The Redhawks, however, quickly boosted the lead back to double digits and kept it there by knocking down 8 of 10 free-throw attempts, including a pair from Mike Schmitz, Harrison Daniels and Danny Ondik.
The Huskies, meanwhile, just kept struggling on offense. They missed all 15 of their 3-point attempts on the night and made only 24 percent of their overall shots.
"You can't win a basketball game scoring 34 points," said Huskies coach Mark Lindo. "I've got to tip my cap to Naperville Central. Their defense set the tone."
Weiss scored 11 points to lead the Huskies, who suffered their poorest scoring output of the season. Friday's game marked the fifth time the Redhawks have held an opponent in the 30s.
"You give up 34 points on your archrival's home floor," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer, "you're doing a job."