Naperville North ends skid vs. Naperville Central

Sure, Naperville North's Dog Pound has sported plenty of orange and had plenty of fun the last couple years.

But Friday night was the best of times. Not only was the gym packed and orange shirts and foam fingers aplenty, but the Huskies (18-5, 7-4) finally knocked off their archrival Redhawks, using a 56-44 DuPage Valley Conference triumph to snap a five-game skid against their neighbors and set off a big celebration on the hardwood.

Senior forward Joe McNicholas made sure North finally beat Central (13-10, 5-6) as he drained four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.

"It was definitely a personal grudge finally being able to beat Central," said McNicholas, who brought the home fans to their feet with a late slam dunk for a 53-43 lead. "The Dog Pound really helps us. It helps our defense and it brings us energy. It was great when the Dog Pound rushed the court and my friends were all there."

Early on it looked like the Redhawks might just extend their hex on the Huskies to three years as David Niggins opened the contest with a 3-pointer and 5 quick points from center Matt Neufeld helped the visitors build a 10-4 lead. But the Huskies, who had a 37-16 edge on the glass, closed to within 10-9 after one quarter and then took a lead when Jovonn Griffin's high-bouncing 3 dropped in to start the second quarter.

After McNicholas added a pair of 3s, Naperville North had a 26-18 lead at the half thanks to a 22-8 run. McNicholas added two more long-range buckets in the third quarter as the hosts threatened to run away with the game before the Redhawks eventually cut what was a 16-point deficit down to 46-41 with 41/2 minutes let to play. First-year Huskies coach Jeff Powers credited his team's defense - and McNicholas' offense - with allowing him to even his cross-town mark at 1-1.

"The kids were real focused all week," he said. "(Naperville Central's) a good team; well-coached. I think our defense was awesome, and when Joe started hitting shots from the outside they had to come out on us and then we were able to go inside more."

Matt Hasse, who used his 6-foot-10 frame to score 6 points, grab 9 boards and block 3 shots, was all smiles while classmates hugged him and even attempted to lift him up during the craziness.

"It's great to be at home," he said. "The crowd was great. It was fun high school basketball. A great atmosphere."

Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer could only tip his hat to McNicholas and his teammates as the Huskies dominated the boards and harassed the Redhawks into a 15-of-42 shooting night.

"(McNicholas) played awfully well. They played awfully well," said Kramer, whose team was led by Bobby Czarnowski's 12 points.

"When you shoot the ball like we did on your archrivals' floor, it's going to be tough to come out on top.

"They also hurt us on the glass. ... Give them credit, they really attacked the glass."

And give the orange supporters some credit as well.