Naperville Central a cut above Willowbrook
Naperville Central's boys basketball players sported a new look Tuesday night, but their play remained the same.
The Redhawks, taking the court in mohawk haircuts, started the playoffs strong with Tuesday's 77-53 victory over Willowbrook in the Class 4A Naperville Central regional semifinals.
The unbeaten DuPage Valley Conference champions picked up right where they left off in the regular season by breaking out to a 31-13 second-quarter lead on the 14th-seeded Warriors (12-16).
Knowing the goals still in front of them, the No. 2 Redhawks (25-2) came out with added motivation.
And the mohawks? They just added an edge to the start of the second season. After the seniors cut their hair at a school function Saturday, the other team members joined in Monday.
"It's kind of a team bonding thing, we all got together and did it," said Redhawks junior Nick Linne. "Anything that happened in the regular season doesn't matter anymore. It's a whole new season."
While Willowbrook tried to contain DVC player of the year Drew Crawford, his three first-quarter assists resulted in a trio of 3-pointers - two from Linne, who hit four for the game and scored 17 points, and one from Danny Ondik, who scored 10 points.
Crawford, meanwhile, had another stellar game. He finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots.
"Just a great team effort," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer, who also received 11 points from Matt Neufeld. "Everyone did their job real well. I thought we executed well on both ends."
Despite falling into a huge hole, Willowbrook never went away. An 11-2 run midway through the second quarter pulled the Warriors within 34-25 on Kyler Market's putback.
Willowbrook stayed within 12 points at the half, but Naperville Central scored the first 5 points of the third quarter to extend the margin again.
Phillip Reid tallied 13 points to pace the Warriors.
"I have no complaints with how our kids played tonight, I thought we played hard," said Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato. "I was proud of our guys. I was proud of the way our guys battled through adversity."
The Redhawks won't find out until tonight who they'll face in Friday's regional final. They do know it'll be a familiar foe, however, as the DVC's West Aurora and Wheaton Warrenville South play for a third time after splitting in the regular season.
Regardless of who it is, Naperville Central has the unenviable task of having to beat a team for a third time.
"It's always tough to play a team for the third time, especially when you've beaten them twice," Crawford said. "It's going to be one of those grind-it-out games. Both of those teams play tough."
As for the mohawks, they may turn into shaved heads by Friday. It could be a common look in the program after Kramer made a promise to the players late in the regular season.
"I told them if we go 14-0 (in the DVC), I'd shave my head," Kramer said. "So it's coming...but not until after the season."
BOX SCORE
CLASS 4A NAPERVILLE CENTRAL REGIONAL
NAPERVILLE CENTRAL 77, willowbrook 53
Willowbrook - Miller 3 0-1 8, Reid 6 1-1 13, Market 3 3-3 9, Flanders 1 4-5 6, Lydon 1 2-2 5, Olatunji 2 0-2 4, Schmidt 1 1-2 3, J. Jones 1 0-0 2, L. Jones 0 0-0 0, Redmer 0 0-0 0, Tynan 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 1-2 1, Leisering 0 2-2 2, Hauppa 0 0-0 0, Lawson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 14-20 53.
Naperville Central - Crawford 7 15-18 30, Linne 4 6-6 17, Mallett 1 2-2 4, Ondik 3 2-2 10, Neufeld 5 1-2 11, Brate 0 0-2 0, Pomeroy 0 0-0 0, Rickert 0 0-0 0, Czarnowski 2 0-0 4, Cephus 0 1-2 1, Bicek 0 0-0 0, Trainor 0 0-0 0, Haywood 0 0-0 0, Zelinski 0 0-0 0, Wirtz 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 27-34 77.
Willowbrook 9 20 9 14 -53
Naperville Central 20 21 14 21 -77
3-point baskets: W: Miller 2, Lydon. NC: Linne 3, Ondik 2, Crawford.
Fouled out: W: Olatunji, Flanders.