Nader’s big finish helps Niles N. past ND
When Niles North’s Abdel Nader stepped to the free throw line with 1:48 left in the third quarter, the talented Vikings guard had no points and was 0-for-10 from the field.
At that point, top-seeded Notre Dame held a 37-32 advantage at the Class 4A New Trier sectional Tuesday night.
Nader calmly hit both free throws, and that seemed to be the lift the Vikings needed.
Nader scored 22 points in the the next 8:27 to lift fourth-seeded Niles North to a stunning 74-60 win over the Dons.
“After my third foul and I had to come to the bench,” said Nader, “I was frustrated. When coach (Glenn Olson) put me back in, he said to keep shooting. I was lucky that my first basket was an easy one. That got my confidence going.”
Nader put the Vikings (23-6) ahead for good at 52-50 with 3:41 left in the game with 2 free throws. Andre Shaw then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to build a 58-50 lead with 2:28 remaining.
A 3-point play by Notre Dame’s outstanding forward Quentin Chievous (25 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) pulled the Dons to within 58-53 with 2:22 left.
But a driving dunk by Nader and 2 free throws built the lead to 62-53 with 1:58 left, and the Dons could not recover.
“Q (Chievous) and I are good friends,” said Nader. “He had the bragging rights when they beat us at the Wheeling Christmas Tournament (61-50 for the title), but I’ve got the bragging rights now.”
Nader praised his teammates for the win that set the school record and put the Vikings in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. sectional championship.
“Even with me in foul trouble,” said Nader, “the team kept us in the game. I trust my teammates. We had to keep playing defense down the stretch. We’ve been playing well by moving the ball and playing solid defense.”
Olson, whose team is 16-1 since holiday play, praised Nader and Shaw.
“He had to keep shooting,” said Olson, a Rolling Meadows grad. “It’s not always going to be pretty, but I told him he had to keep shooting. Shaw lost his starting job after the holidays, but he took it well. He comes off the bench and gives us a lift. We have a great player and a great team that surrounds him.”
“My teammates were looking for me in that spot, “ said Shaw of the fourth quarter. “We kept our composure even when they had the lead.”
The Vikings hit 14 free throws in a row in the fourth quarter and 21 of 25 in the game.
“You expect that from a veteran team,” said Olson. “We made big plays all night. Players like Earl Washington (12 points) and Malachi Nix (15) kept us in the game while Nader was sitting out.”
While Chievous led the Dons (23-7), Rodney Pryor was the only other double figure scorer with 10 points.
“Both teams played hard and made runs and comebacks at each other,” said Notre Dame coach Tom Les. “Nader and Chievous both shined tonight. Nader stepped up when they needed him and they got hot at the end of the game.”
The Vikings await the winner of tonight’s battle between No. 11 seed Niles West (18-11) and No. 15 Schaumburg (17-11) in Friday’ sectional championship game.