Naperville Central keeps win streak going vs. Naperville North

Naperville Central didn't talk once about its rival's superior record leading up to Friday's game.

For the Redhawks, the cross-town boys basketball game was just another showdown against a bunch of familiar faces.

It ended with a familiar result as Naperville Central edged visiting Naperville North 45-41 to beat the Huskies for the fifth straight time.

"Any win will give you momentum, especially over a rival," said Redhawks senior Matt Neufeld. "Hopefully going into the second half of conference play this will really get us going."

Eleven lead changes and nine ties led to the game's pivotal moment midway through the fourth quarter. Off a missed Naperville Central (9-5, 2-2) shot, 6-foot-6 junior David Niggins flew in for a two-handed putback dunk that gave the Redhawks a 37-35 lead.

"The momentum swung huge after that," Niggins said. "No one really boxed me out at the top and it came off perfect for it."

After a missed Naperville North free throw, the Redhawks' Nick Linne converted a three-point play to put his team ahead 40-35.

Jovonn Griffin scored for the Huskies (10-3, 2-2) with 29 seconds left to pull them within 42-41, but after a pair of Linne free throws, a Naperville North 3-point attempt went off the mark.

Bobby Czarnowski's free throw with 11 seconds left made it 45-41 to ice the win for Naperville Central.

"We had a great week of practice," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "We were ready, we were prepared and we knew what we were going to see."

Poor free-throw shooting hounded both teams, especially Naperville North. The Huskies made only 10 of 22 attempts, including four straight misses in the fourth quarter as the Redhawks built their 5-point lead.

"The last two weeks we shot a billion free throws and we were doing really well," said Huskies coach Jeff Powers. "I just told the kids I think it's a mind thing. You've got to be mentally tough to make a free throw. To be 10 for 22 is inexcusable."

Chris McGee and Matt Hasse, who pulled down 10 rebounds, each scored 10 points for Naperville North. Czarnowski led all scorers with 14 points, while Neufeld added 10 points.