Relaxed Naperville North tops WW South
Naperville North coach Jeff Powers had a simple halftime message for his team: relax.
The message resonated during the second half as the Huskies used a strong third quarter to pull ahead of DuPage Valley Conference rival Wheaton Warrenville South and eventually lead to a 47-38 road victory Friday night.
“I told the guys to relax, have fun and let the offense come to them,” Powers said. “Keep playing like mad men on defense and then let the flow of the offense follow.”
Down 12-10 at halftime, the Huskies used a 20-9 scoring advantage in the third quarter to pull ahead of the Tigers. According to Powers, it was the first time that Naperville North (3-5, 2-1) won the third quarter all season.
Wheaton Warrenville South led for most of the first half and for the early part of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by senior point guard Reilly O'Toole gave the home team a 16-15 lead with 5:10 left in the third quarter before Jovonn Griffin and Naperville North took control of the game.
After O'Toole's 3-pointer the Huskies went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 23-16 midway through the third, with Griffin scoring six straight at one point.
“Finally, we took care of business in the third quarter,” Griffin said.
The Huskies used the momentum gained in the third quarter to close out the Tigers in the final eight minutes, going up by as many as 15 when a basket by Griffin made the score 47-32. Jake DuPre' led Naperville North with 12 points while Jon Mengel and Griffin each had 10.
“Jon (Mengel) and Jovonn were all over the place tonight,” Powers said. “Everyone did a great job.”
WW South's Kevin Bridges tallied the game's final six points and led all scorers with 21. The Huskies held O'Toole to just 5 points on the night.
“(Naperville North) got after us in the third quarter,” Bridges said. “Their run kind of dictated what we did, and that's not what we're about.”
The Tigers (4-4, 1-2) will have a 10-day break before taking to the floor again, a break that coach Mike Healy knows is needed.
“We'll get a break from games for a while, which is what we need,” Healy said. “We need to get in the gym, hit the fundamentals and get things figured out.”