Naperville N. in the zone over Benet

Right before game time, Naperville North debated whether to play zone or man-to-man defense against Benet.

Looks like the Huskies made the right call.

Naperville North devastated the Redwings' offense in a 65-33 nonconference boys basketball victory Tuesday in Lisle.

The defensive choice? A 1-3-1 zone.

"Obviously, our zone defense built that lead and set that tone," said Huskies coach Mark Lindo. "It's ironic because we were still in debate whether to start man-to-man or zone within seconds of the game. I thought we really built the lead with our defense, and then we finished the game with our offense."

Benet (2-3) took a 5-2 lead on Austin Wagner's 3-pointer, but the Huskies (4-2) dominated from there. They closed the first quarter with 12 straight points before using a 12-4 second-quarter run to pull away to a 26-9 halftime lead.

Perimeter problems hampered the Redwings all game long, especially in the first half when they made only 2 of 22 shots from the field.

After shooting 11 of 38 in Friday's 41-30 loss to St. Patrick, the Redwings were 11 of 51 against the Huskies.

With a long season ahead, first-year Benet coach Gene Heidkamp knows his team needs to figure out its struggles against zones.

"We played as poorly as we could play on the offensive end," Heidkamp said. "If you can't make any shots you're not going to win any games. It's a challenge for us, but it's just something we'll have to keep working at in practice."

Benet made six third-quarter shots, but it wasn't enough to slow the Huskies, who shot 59 percent from the field. Whatever focus they brought to the defensive end carried over to the offense.

"We were really pumped for this game because it's like a cross-town rival," said Huskies guard Danny Grimley, who scored a game-high 14 points. "We came out real energetic in our defense. Everyone was determined to win, especially coming off two losses."

Benet never drew closer than 15 points away in the second half. A 14-2 fourth-quarter run pushed the margin above 20 points to stay.

Areas Gintautas and Joe McNicholas each scored 12 points for the Huskies on a balanced offensive night. Phil Hayes and Mac Coffey scored 7 points apiece for Benet.