Naperville C. beats WW South for first DVC victory
There are no must-wins in December.
Naperville Central's boys basketball team just played like it Friday.
The Redhawks notched their first DuPage Valley Conference win of the season with a 51-44 victory at Wheaton Warrenville South.
Rallying from a 24-18 deficit early in the third quarter, Naperville Central (5-3, 1-2) blitzed the Tigers (1-6, 0-3) with 10 straight points to take the lead for good. Six-foot-eight sophomore Nick Czarnowski scored 6 of his game-high 20 points during that stretch as the Redhawks made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to their big man.
It also didn't hurt when Ryan Antony knocked down a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers and Kevin Linne added a third to extend the lead and help seal the win.
"I felt like we slowed down in the second half and we were much more patient on offense," Czarnowski said. "It all opens up as soon as we start throwing it inside. Everyone on the floor can score and they all know what their role is."
Early on WW South looked in great shape to pick up its first DVC win after jumping out to an 11-2 lead behind Dan Roadman and Mike Kramer 3-pointers. Deep into the second quarter the Tigers led 21-16 before taking a 21-18 lead to the half.
Even though Roadman's third 3-pointer put the Tigers ahead 24-18 early in the third quarter, WW South coach Bob Szorc felt his team left too many points on the court in the second and third quarters.
"I thought it came down to a possession game, and they did a better job in winning that battle," Szorc said. "There were a couple possessions in the second quarter where we could have extended that lead, and then a couple possessions in the third quarter where they did a good job."
A Czarnowski bucket gave Naperville Central its biggest lead of 39-29 early in the fourth quarter. WW South trimmed the deficit to 5 points a few times but couldn't come any closer.
Antony scored 11 points and fellow sophomore Austin Pauga added 10 for the Redhawks. Roadman, Kramer and Matt Kienzle who had three fourth-quarter 3-pointers scored 11 points for WW South.
"This was a much-needed win," said Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer. "We talked about how we had to have this game. It's on the road, in their gym, but this was a game we thought we had to win."