Naperville Central hangs tough for win over Waubonsie Valley
After what took place the previous night, Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley entered Saturday's annual rivalry game with differing records and vastly different agendas.
The Redhawks, fresh off a big DuPage Valley Conference win at West Aurora, were looking to improve to 6-1 on the year and not to suffer a letdown.
The Warriors, meanwhile, fell to 1-4 Friday with an overtime loss and took to the floor looking for a win and to continue to play better in what has been a difficult start to the new season.
Both teams did take away some positives, but it was the host Redhawks who hung of for a 39-37 victory after Waubonsie Valley managed to get off two shots in close in the final 3.9 seconds looking to send the game into overtime.
"We found a way," Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. "We knew we'd be flat today and we knew Waubonsie would be up. It was a dogfight, and I'm proud of the kids for hanging in there."
The low-scoring physical battle was tight throughout, with the Redhawks leading by 2 points at the end of the first and third quarters, as well as holding a 19-18 advantage at the half. The Warriors, however, went ahead 37-36 with 1:07 left to play after Alex Edmondson scored on a putback, then Warriors guard Tyler Perkins came away with a steal and hit both free throws after he was fouled.
Waubonsie failed to score again and the Redhawks prevailed after David Niggins sank a pair of free throws with just under a minute left and Paul Wirtz split a pair of free throws just prior to the Warriors' last-second efforts to draw even.
"We came out ready to go today and we thought we'd squeak one out, but we didn't execute the last couple minutes," said Warriors center Mark Szott, who battled underneath all night with Naperville Central center Matt Neufeld.
"We're gaining some confidence, because earlier we were losing by 20 and now we lost in overtime yesterday and by two today."
Jakobi Johnson had a pair of 3-pointers for the Warriors in the second half, but his shot at the buzzer came up just short. With 3.9 seconds left to go, Perkins dribbled through a double-team only to have Niggins block his shot on the baseline. But the ball landed in Johnson's hands with just enough time to get off another shot.
"They got two good shots off and I was like, was I wrong that there were (only) three seconds left?" Kramer said. "But we'll take 6-1 any way we can get it."
Niggins had a game-high 12 points. For the Warriors, Edmondson led the way with 11 points and Perkins and Johnson each added 8, but the game capped a tough back-to-back heart-breaking weekend.
"Our guys are disappointed right now and they're down, but we've all got to come together as a team and fight through it," Warriors coach Steve Weemer said.