Redhawks blow past West Aurora

Naperville Central's boys basketball team set the tone for Friday's game with its defense.

At the same time the Redhawks may have set the tone for the season.

The defending DuPage Valley Conference co-champs showed they're ready to defend the crown by opening the conference season with a 68-48 win over West Aurora in Naperville.

Naperville Central (4-1, 1-0) trailed only on the opening basket. After halftime it led by at least double digits the rest of the game.

"We were very well prepared," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "We wanted to dictate the tempo of the game early, and I think we did that."

Do-it-all, Northwestern-bound Drew Crawford paced the Redhawks with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 blocked shots and 3 assists.

Crawford also had a stunning two-handed dunk off a rebound early in the third quarter. Not leaving the court until the final minute, about the only time he had to rest was at the free-throw line - where he hit 13 of 14 attempts.

"We knew it was a big game to set the tone for the season, especially the conference season," he said. "We're trying to repeat, so we're trying to send a message."

The Redhawks' matchup zone defense stymied West Aurora (2-3, 0-1). Shots proved tough to come by despite many extended possessions.

Four-of-20 first-half shooting from the field set a completely opposite tone for the Blackhawks, while 17-of-21 free-throw shooting for the game kept them relatively close throughout.

"We were off offensively," said Blackhawks coach Gordie Kerkman. "We had a lot of trouble recognizing whether they were playing man or zone. We really didn't have much movement to combat it. Even if you don't know what it is, there are certain things that you can do. The ball's got to move."

Matt Neufeld had 17 points for the Redhawks, while David Mallett knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 12 points. Point guard Danny Ondik didn't score, but his ballhandling against game-long pressure was critical.

Markus Cocroft did his best to rally the Blackhawks in the second half, tallying 16 of his 17 points. Six-foot-seven sophomore Kyle Pilmer added 11 points.

"We had a game plan and we stuck to it," Neufeld said. "It's a huge win. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going."