Redhawks don't let up vs. Panthers

Though a 10-point lead at halftime always seems favorable for the team holding the advantage, many basketball fans know the double-digit lead is hardly reason to relax.

The Naperville Central boys basketball team held a 30-20 halftime lead over Glenbard North on Friday night, and it made sure that lead didn't leave its sights.

An 8-0 Redhawks run to begin the third quarter pushed Naperville Central's lead to 18, catapulting the Redhawks to a 56-43 DuPage Valley Conference victory in Naperville.

Threes by Danny Ondik and David Mallett sandwiched a Matt Neufeld layup immediately following halftime, as Naperville Central (13-1, 4-0) once again showed its teeth in the third quarter.

"That's the way we've been all year. We've been a second-half team, and we've been a third-quarter team," Redhawks coach Pete Kramer said. "We've done it in those two quarters all year, so it wasn't a surprising thing.

"We just kind of refocused at halftime and said, 'Let's build on this 10-point lead,' and went from there."

Naperville Central's lead remained at 18 points after three quarters, thanks to a suffocating defense that allowed Glenbard North just 5 third-quarter points. Outside of Reggie Davis' 16 points, no Panther scored more than 6 points on the night - including 6-foot-6, 235 pound center Evan Watkins.

"Neufeld played great (on Watkins) down low for one - playing the pass around, getting behind him when he caught," Redhawks forward Drew Crawford said. "We were (also) trying to double down on him and stay straight up and not draw any fouls."

Glenbard North coach Joe Larson saw opportunities for the Panthers (4-9, 2-2) to stay tight early, but the bounces seemed to favor Naperville Central as the game progressed.

"I thought we had some chances. I thought we played really well in the first half for the most part," Larson said. "They got a couple loose balls and putbacks that kind of extended the lead - and those little possessions are huge."

Larson knew a victory would be hard to steal once the Redhawks shot out of the halftime gates.

"They came out and they hit some big shots there to put them up 18," he said. "Against a team like that, that's going to be a hard deficit to come back on.

"We kept fighting, though, and I'm proud of our guys for that."