Naperville North bounces back well
No hangover, whatsoever.
If anyone was worried that Friday's bad fourth quarter might carry over into Naperville North's opener at the Warrior Christmas Classic on Monday against Al Raby, it's time to calm down. The Huskies (7-2) played great defense, rebounded well and easily prevailed 56-23 against a Raiders squad that entered play at 6-3 after having battled Chicago powers like Whitney Young and Marshall.
Naperville North played three solid quarters in last Friday's DuPage Valley Conference game against Wheaton Warrenville South only to have the Tigers tally more points in the fourth quarter than they had in the previous three combined. But the Huskies blasted Al Raby 17-2 in the first quarter at Waubonsie Valley - allowing only a Montrell Presley buzzer-beater - and built the lead to 36-14 at the half behind 7 points apiece from Joe McNicholas and Jake DuPré.
"Our defense was real, real solid, which is something we talked a lot about even though for three quarters against Wheaton Warrenville I didn't think we played bad defense. It was just terrible in the fourth quarter," Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said.
The Raiders never got on track against a Huskies defense that created all sorts of matchup problems. Six-foot-10 center Matt Hasse had 4 blocked shots and he and McNicholas were two of 5 Huskies who recorded at least 5 rebounds.
"Last Friday we did horrible at rebounding," said McNicholas, a fourth-year varsity player. "Today we made a statement on physicality and we did a job on the boards. I feel like we can probably win this tourney if we play like we did today."
While Al Raby was missing 13 of 14 shots in the first quarter and turning the ball over 13 times through two quarters, the Huskies received a pair of 3-pointers from Jovonn Griffin and numerous baskets inside from an offense that saw 12 players score, led by 9 points from McNicholas and 8 from Matt LaCosse.
"It was a good way to start," said Powers, whose team will play Marmion on Tuesday and Kankakee on Wednesday and then return for Saturday's final round at the Waubonsie Valley tourney. "We've got to be a little bit razor sharp with these three games and then it will be nice to have a break for Christmas."
Raiders coach Culumber Ball was disappointed with his team's showing in the tourney opener.
"I think the kids got a little frustrated," he said. "They jumped on us and they controlled the tempo of the game. It's a learning experience, but we're a way better team than we played tonight."