Naperville North loses big lead, game to Hinsdale Central
Midway through the third quarter, a Naperville North player was fouled while going strong to the basket on a fastbreak.
It was the type of play the Huskies had used on a regular basis while dominating Hinsdale Central for 2 1/2 quarters at Waubonsie Valley's Warrior Boys Christmas Classic on Friday night in Aurora. But instead of burying the free throws and extending a 42-23 lead, the Huskie missed both foul shots.
Even so, it was hard to imagine that Hinsdale Central would make the Huskies pay for the misses. After all, the Red Devils shot just 7 of 26 from the floor while trailing 31-19 at the half, as Joe McNicholas tallied 12 points and guards Emerson Beck and Dan Grimley each added 7.
But the Red Devils, who had been given a little lift at the end of the half on back-to-back steals and layups by Jason Rafferty, got hot late in the third quarter just as Naperville North started to cool off, especially from the foul line.
John Whitelaw, who attempted just one shot in a scoreless first half, struck for 9 points in the third quarter and finished with 15 all in the second half. Abe Saleh, meanwhile, drained three of his four 3-pointers after the intermission and helped power the Red Devils to a 68-62 come-from-behind win to advance to the title game of the Waubonsie Valley tourney.
"We came into the locker room knowing that we couldn't play any worse in the second half," said Whitelaw, who was 4 for 4 from the line as Hinsdale Central made good on 20 of 25 free throws in the game. "We were lucky to not be down by more. In the second half we got things going and some things opened up for me."
They also opened up for Saleh, who hit a 3-pointer that capped a 10-0 run to close within 44-35. Rafferty, whose big steals gave the Red Devils some life at the end of the half, recorded another steal and followed it with a 3 at the buzzer to make it a 46-41 Naperville North lead after three quarters.
Saleh finally put Hinsdale Central on top 47-46 with a long-range bucket one minute into the final quarter, but the Huskies reclaimed the lead at 54-52 with 5:15 left to play following a 3-pointer from Grimley, who paced his team with 15 points.
But the Huskies could not keep pace due the combination of poor free-throw shooting (11 for 25 for the night) and the Red Devils' pressure defense that forced 16 second-half turnovers.
"It's obviously a difficult loss. But you have to credit Hinsdale Central. They didn't quit," Naperville North coach Mark Lindo said. "The bottom line is we gave them opportunities by our inability to connect from the free-throw line.
"You end up playing with fire. It was a good win for them. For us, we're 6-6 but we could have been 7-5 and playing in the championship."
Red Devils coach Ed Lynch knows his team may have gotten away with one on this night.
"Did we win that game?" he asked with a grin on his face. "We stunk up the gym in the first half. We had to change the game because their bigs were killing us.
"We could have rolled over and died in the third quarter. You've got to give the kids credit. They believed they could come back."