Matosian shoots Falcons past Naperville North

Matt Matosian didn't think he was shooting the ball very well in warmups or in Friday's game.

But his shot was on target enough for the Wheaton North junior guard to come off the bench to spark a dramatic third-quarter comeback as the Falcons won their first DuPage Valley Conference game 66-55 over host Naperville North.

"My form didn't feel too good, but it was going in all right, so I'll take it," said Matosian, who finished with a team-high 19 points.

The Falcons (5-7, 1-3) trailed by as many as 16 points in the third-quarter when Matosian exploded for 7 straight points and 11 in the period, including a pair of 3-pointers, to spearhead a 22-6 run that erased the Huskies lead.

"Matt was a big part of our spark in the third quarter," said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos. "He also made big plays on defense."

The come-from-behind win was huge for the Falcons, who have made a habit of falling behind in the second half.

"We've been close at halftime and got down big in the third quarter," Matosian said. "This game we did the opposite."

"We did a good job of hanging in when we were down," Nazos said. "We came back against a good team by making better decisions with the ball, pressuring their guys on the outside and blocking out on the boards to hold them to one shot."

After catching the Huskies (6-8, 0-4) near the end of the third period, the Falcons took the lead for good at 54-53 on a Matosian layup with 4:30 left in the game. They kept increasing the lead until the final buzzer.

Three other Falcons hit for double digits, led by Zach Dungee, who scored 14 points and added 9 rebounds. Chris Bradley hit 11 and Mike Small added 10.

The first half was controlled by Naperville North's big front line as Joe McNicholas scored all of his 13 points and James O'Shaughnessy scored 12 of his game-high 24.

The Huskies held a 33-23 lead at halftime after playing an aggressive game on the floor and on the boards.

"Wheaton North were the aggressors in the second half," said Naperville North coach Mark Lindo. "They took the game to us from a physicality standpoint. They got on a roll and they started feeling good about themselves. They beat us to loose balls."

Lindo said that his team didn't take care of the ball well in the second half, but he credited the Wheaton North defense for disrupting the Huskies' offense.

"They brought waves of skilled ballhandlers into the game," Lindo said. "And I think they wore us down a little. Our guys were tired. After Matosian hit those shots in the third quarter, we were playing not to lose."