Naperville North holds on to down Glenbard North
Charged with the task of containing Naperville North's towering front line of 6-foot-10 Matt Hasse, 6-6 Joe McNicholas and 6-4 James O'Shaughnessy, with 6-6 Matt LaCosse and 6-4 Jake Dupre coming off the bench, Glenbard North coach Joe Larson knew the key for his squad would be harassing the Huskies' guards.
The Panthers did just that, as they forced 24 turnovers, but they couldn't turn enough of them into baskets as the Huskies held on for a 67-58 victory in the DuPage Valley Conference opener for both teams.
"There were a couple of times where we'd get turnovers and then turn it over right back to them," said Larson, whose squad racked up 20 giveaways in the game. "We pride ourselves on getting turnovers and getting to the offensive end for easy shots, but we just didn't make enough of them tonight."
When the Huskies (5-0, 1-0) weren't turning the ball over, they were incredibly efficient with it as they shot 60 percent from the field, and when they got the ball to the likes of Hasse, McNicholas and O'Shaughnessy the result was usually a bucket.
"Twenty-four turnovers?" wondered Huskies coach Jeff Powers. "That's a lot, and it seemed like we had a lot more. It was something that we persevered through."
The first quarter saw the teams trade baskets throughout a frame that ended in a 17-17 tie. Naperville North's Big Three combined for 12 points, which was almost offset by Glenbard North's Reggie Davis, who had 8 points in the paint despite giving up nearly a foot in height to the likes of Hasse.
The Huskies began to take some semblance of control when they scored the first six points of the second quarter, but the Panthers (1-3, 0-1) fought back within 27-26 on Brandon Metoyer's jumper.
It was one of the Huskies' supporting cast, guard Nick Buege, who led his squad to a 34-26 halftime lead when he canned a baseline jumper and then swished a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.
"We tried to get them off the block and we forced them to take some jump shots and they hit some shots," Larson said. "Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to them for making the shots."
The Huskies got strong contributions off the bench from LaCosse, Dupre, Matt Bushman and Matt LoLordo as they stretched the lead to 50-35 after three quarters. James Fleming tried to get the Panthers back in the game as he hit a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but Glenbard North could never get closer than the final 9-point margin.
"The competition in the DVC is pretty tough, so it's always good to get a win," said Powers, who stayed perfect in his first season as the Huskies coach.