Hinsdale Central beats Naperville Central in OT

Hinsdale Central's boys basketball team nearly snapped its nine-game losing streak at the end of the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's game against Naperville Central.

Turns out the Red Devils needed overtime, but at the end of 36 minutes, Hinsdale Central finally got back in the win column with a 53-50 overtime victory in Hinsdale.

It marked the first time since Dec. 16 the Red Devils walked off the court as victors.

"We needed a win. We haven't had a win in a long time," Hinsdale Central guard Nick Kladis said. "A lot of the kids were down on the team, but we still stayed positive."

Kladis' long-range shooting played a major role in the Red Devils (5-11) keeping pace with Naperville Central. The 6-0 senior guard nailed seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points.

"I've been in a slump for a while lately, and I figured it was time to bust out of it," he said. "I shot around before the game - and it seemed to pay off in the game tonight."

The Red Devils fell behind 24-16 midway through the second quarter but cut the deficit to just 3 points before halftime on a Kladis 3. A Terry Brennan 3 at the outset of the third quarter knotted the game at 24-24 before another Kladis 3 gave Hinsdale Central a 27-26 lead.

So did the home team make any major adjustments after falling behind in the second quarter?

Not a chance.

"We just stayed the course," Hinsdale Central coach Lee Maciejewski said. "I asked the kids to play our offense and our defense for 32 minutes, and I actually left us a little short.

"We just executed our offense just a little better. We stayed within ourselves. We didn't try to do things we were incapable of and it paid off."

Naperville Central (12-7) had a chance to prevent overtime with a mere second remaining in regulation. Center Matt Neufeld grabbed an offensive rebound and was promptly fouled on the putback attempt with the Redhawks trailing 46-45.

Neufeld missed the first free throw before knocking down the second to extend the game to overtime.

"It's something that you dream about. Usually you dream about making both of them," the 6-6 Neufeld said. "There was a lot going through my mind.

"It felt good coming off (my hand), but it went long. All I could do was knock down the next one."