DuPage notes: The best against the best
In one of the premier area matchups of the season, two of the premier area players went head to head.
Naperville Central's Drew Crawford and Downers Grove South's Malcolm Herron guarded each other for nearly their entire showdown at Saturday's Downers Grove North Winter Classic. The two standout seniors have known each other for several years, playing together for the Illinois Defenders in AAU competition.
They dealt in some playful trash talking on the phone in the days leading up to the game, and then butted heads for 32 minutes Saturday. While Northwestern-bound Crawford outscored uncommitted Herron 26-17, Herron's Mustangs (11-4) beat the Redhawks (15-2) 64-59.
"I was a little tired guarding Drew, but after a while it was fun," Herron said. "We've played against each other so many times, you get to know the tendencies and that made it easier."
Herron hasn't committed to a college yet, but he said he's been in contact with Illinois State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Eastern Illinois and Loyola. He also said he'll likely wait until after the season to delve deeply into his college decision.
Rebounding: Saturday's loss to Downers South dropped Naperville Central to 15-2 and ended a 12-game winning streak.
For the second night in a row, the Redhawks allowed more than 60 points, although they managed to outscore West Chicago 70-63 while staying unbeaten at 6-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference.
The weekend defensive lapse was a stark departure for a team that's allowing an average of only 48 points per game. It's a trend coach Pete Kramer hopes to end quickly - preferably Friday night against Wheaton North.
"We've kind of gotten away from what's taken us this far," Kramer said. "We're not controlling the games like we have. We've gotten away from what we like to do, and that's protect our basket and be patient at both ends of the floor. But mostly on defense."
Naperville Central started the season 3-0 before dropping its first game to South Elgin. Now that the 12-game streak is over, Kramer's hoping for a similar resilience coming off the team's second loss.
The Redhawks saw a glimpse of that resiliency in the second half against Downers South when they rallied from an 18-point third-quarter deficit and tied the game early in the fourth quarter.
"It's a weekend where we learned something," Kramer said. "It was a great team effort where we showed a lot of character."
Balance beaming: In Glenbard East's 76-58 win over Hinsdale Central in Saturday's Downers North Winter Classic, four Rams starters hit double-digit scoring, and junior Jack Merrithey tallied 9 points.
In stunning balance, the Rams' five starters - a group that included senior Paul Sanders, junior Lee Skinner and sophomores Zach Miller and Johnny Hill - accounted for all of the team's 76 points.
"I thought our bigs played well, we shot the ball well from the perimeter," said Rams coach Scott Miller. "That formula's been staying true."
In fact the Rams (13-3) have had four double-digit scorers about a half-dozen times this season. The combination of Sanders and Skinner inside and Merrithey and Miller on the perimeter offer too many options to defend.
The inside-outside confidence came into play against Hinsdale Central when 6-foot-4 Sanders, the team's leading scorer, sat for much of the first half with foul trouble. Instead of panicking, though, the Rams kept their lead.
"It's a big team effort," Hill said. "There are a lot of guys who could have 20 points a game, but we're an unselfish team. That's how we get it done."
Like day and Knights: Not to jinx Immaculate Conception, but with seven games left in the regular season the 14-6 Knights are headed to their best record since a 23-7 mark in 1985-86. Since then their best mark has been 15-14 in 2005-06.
Last weekend IC beat Driscoll 38-35 - the first time in coach Darren Howard's nine seasons he's beaten Driscoll twice in the Suburban Catholic Conference - and followed with a 47-23 win over St. Edward. IC held St. Edward to 8-of-41 shooting, 2 of 21 from 3-point range.
The reasons for the Knights' improvement are multifold. Howard has great leadership in senior Dan Muisenga and three-year varsity players Matt Purdom and Antonio Taylor, scoring options including junior Kevin Nutley and sophomore Demitrius Mobley, and an actual point guard, sophomore Michael Randick.
IC offers inside-outside scoring and can go at least nine deep. Tom Hart, Joe Burke, Matt Vesey and Will Cronin provide Howard options without a great loss of production.
IC will be challenged Friday by Marmion, which on Dec. 19 dealt the Knights one of their four SCC losses, 41-37.
They won't back down - attitude is another reason for IC's improvement.
"The atmosphere of the school is completely different," Howard said. "There's an expectation of excellence in everything. ... It's not enough anymore just to be on the team. Everybody here, from the coaches down to the last kid on the bench, expect to win."
Fun in the sun: While our teeth chattered in subzero temperatures, Wheaton Academy's boys basketball team enjoyed West Coast surf and sun during the Warriors' annual Winterim basketball trip Jan. 12-17.
From their start in San Diego to the conclusion north of Malibu, the trip offered round-the-clock education, fellowship and tourism.
The Warriors managed to squeeze in two games of basketball - a 46-32 win over Mt. Carmel and a 58-51 loss to Oaks Christian.
Space doesn't allow the complete itinerary, but some highlights included: a trip to San Diego Zoo, practice at Point Loma University, a tour of UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, the USC-Arizona State game, practice at Pepperdine University and a humpback whale sighting on the beach at Malibu.
And also simple things like junior Quinn Gorski describing Wheaton Academy to the Oaks Christian students, and hanging out with the Mt. Carmel team.
"It was great for our kids just to see how life is out there," said Warriors coach Paul Ferguson. "I think the parents may be mad at me, because I think all those kids are going to want to go to college in California."
Next year they'll visit former Wheaton Academy athletic director Tom Jamerson at Charlotte Christian in North Carolina.