Naperville North 68, West Chicago 46
Naperville North boys basketball coach Mark Lindo was hoping to get at least 28 post touches against West Chicago in the DuPage Valley Conference finale for both teams Wednesday.
Lindo got exactly what he wanted, and that led to a hot start and a 68-46 win. It gives the Huskies road wins in their final three regular-season games prior to beginning play at the Class 4A Naperville North regional against Glenbard West on Monday.
"We had a decided height advantage inside on the glass and in the paint," Lindo said. "I thought we distributed the ball really well. We got some easy looks, especially with Joe (McNicholas) early. Danny Grimley hit some pull-up shots. The outside shots start coming more when you get some confidence and rhythm inside."
Confidence was not a problem for the Huskies (11-15, 6-8) in the early going. After West Chicago (1-24, 0-14) cut the Huskies' lead to 14-10 in the first, Naperville North rattled off a 20-0 run to take control of the game. That included 10 points on layups for McNicholas.
"In the locker room we always talk about getting off to a strong start," Naperville North senior Austin Weiss said. "We started, finished and celebrated at the end of the game."
Led by its three seniors on senior night, however, West Chicago did manage to put together a run. The Wildcats scored the final 6 points of the first half to leave a 40-23 deficit. Then on senior C.J. Opel's driving layup with 4:50 left in the third, West Chicago sliced the lead to single digits at 40-31. The Wildcats scored the first 8 points of the second half.
Opel paced the Wildcats with 15 points and fellow senior Jon Reyes added 12.
"Sure, we'd like to win the game, but at the same time, they played well," said West Chicago coach Kevin Gimre. "I was very happy for them. Great moment for them to do that. That's what you want."
McNicholas led four Huskies in double figures with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Weiss and Grimley each scored 13, and Tom Walsh added 12 for Naperville North.
With three straight road wins under their belt, the 17th-seeded Huskies return home next week and hope to follow that momentum to a regional title, starting against No. 13 seed Glenbard West.
West Chicago, the 21st seed, takes on No. 12 seed Geneva in the second game of Monday's doubleheader to open the regional.
"I think we are very confident," Lindo said. "We're more confident right now than we have been all year, and it's the right time to feel that way."