Griffin helps Naperville North get past Bartlett

Bartlett's scouting report on the Naperville North boys basketball team centered on containing some key suspects.

The Hawks prepared in practice to face 6-foot-10 Huskies center senior Matt Hasse and 6-6 senior forward Joe McNicholas, among others. One player they didn't expect to do damage - backup junior point guard Jovonn Griffin - made the difference in Naperville North's 75-62 nonconference victory at Bartlett Tuesday.

Griffin came off the bench to score a career-best 18 points to go with 4 assists and 4 rebounds as the Naperville North reserves outscored Bartlett's 35-22.

"I just wanted to play hard and have fun," Griffin said. "We have a good team this year and you can't be selfish. You've got to pass the ball around. I just ended up getting lucky and getting some shots."

Griffin scored 9 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, but his biggest play of the night was a key assist on a layup by McNicholas, which halted a 7-0 Bartlett run that had trimmed the Huskies' lead to 55-50 with 6:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Following a Naperville North timeout, Griffin avoided a Bartlett trap, penetrated the lane and dished a no-look bounce pass to McNicholas (game-high 19 points) for a layup.

"Jovonn was really able to attack the defense and dished off at the right time, or he would finish at the basket," McNicholas said. "He did a really good job of doing that tonight. He hasn't been consistent all year, but today he really showed up and showed us what he could do."

The assist from Griffin to McNicholas ignited a 12-0 run for Naperville North (14-4), which won its fourth straight, and effective ended any chance of a comeback by Bartlett (10-8). The Hawks dropped their third game in a row.

"Those are the guys you hope to contain," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said of Griffin. "When a kid like that comes off the bench with 18, that's the difference in the game. You hold him to his season average and it's probably a tie ballgame. We've got to do a better job of defending everybody, not just the guys we know can score."

Naperville North coach Scott Powers switched regularly between a 3-2 zone, a matchup zone and man coverage to confuse the Hawks. Bartlett's all-time leading scorer, senior guard Luke Labedzki, who played fewer minutes than usual Tuesday due to a slight illness, was held to 8 points. The Hawks shot 25 of 55 from the field (45 percent), and 5 of 21 from 3-point range.

Senior forward Mike Banks (10 points) was the only player to crack double digits for Bartlett. Guards Donovan Coleman and Matt Chaltin added 9 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Chris McGee came off the bench to score 10 points for the Huskies to go with 3 assists and 3 rebounds.