West Aurora drops 1st in DuPage Valley
Naperville North had a statement-making weekend confirmed by its seventh man Saturday night in Aurora.
Seeking its first DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball league championship in 14 years, the Huskies outlasted fellow undefeated rival West Aurora 53-51 to take a one-game lead over the host Blackhawks.
Senior reserve guard Chris Mullen scored all 10 of his points after the intermission, and his 3-pointer with 72 seconds to play was the last of eight lead changes and four ties in a back-and-forth contest.
The Mullen baseline-right 3-pointer gave Naperville North (10-4, 5-0) the lead for good at 51-49 as West Aurora had a pair of critical misfires from point-blank range in the final minute-plus as well as a 15-footer at the buzzer that missed badly.
"I have been in a little (shooting) slump lately," Mullen said. "Coach (Jeff Powers) said to go in motion, and (Matt) Stacho gave me a great pass. It's huge to get these two wins this weekend."
The game, after a fluid start in which there were lead changes on four consecutive possessions, evolved into a referendum on perimeter shooting.
Naperville North hit four first-half 3-pointers, while West Aurora missed all seven 3-pointers it attempted during the same span: Naperville North took a 22-21 lead into the break as a result.
Nine of the Huskies' 17 field goals were 3-pointers.
But the Blackhawks' outside game found its rhythm in the third quarter.
Juwan Starks' three consecutive makes from beyond the arc in the third quarter gave West Aurora (11-3, 4-1) its first lead since the opening minutes.
The Blackhawks would not convert a conventional field goal in the period, and the 3-pointer Jontrel Walker buried would be a harbinger of things to come.
The sophomore point guard hit all three of his 3-point field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter in authoring his game-high 16-point performance.
Starks, however, failed to score in the fourth after tallying 15 points through the opening three quarters.
"Kyle Lindberg is our defensive stopper," Powers said of his adjustment between quarters. "He is the best defensive player in our league."
"(Starks) is a marked man," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said. "We stopped getting him the ball."
Walker gave West Aurora its largest lead of the game with a 3-pointer with 3:12 to play, but it proved to be the Blackhawks' final score from the field.
Naperville North drew first blood in a league showdown with an 8-0 run that Mullen capped with his 3-pointer and free throw.
Derek Westman and Stacho scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Huskies.
In the girls' varsity preliminary, West Aurora senior guard Lexi Nelson flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 10 assists and 6 steals in the Blackhawks' 68-61 double-overtime victory.
Liz Skaggs (14 points, 10 rebounds), Alexis Wiggins (10 points) and Ariel Smith (10) all finished in double figures for West Aurora (8-8, 1-4).
Shannon Bushman scored 29 of her career-high 31 points after halftime to lead Naperville North (10-6, 2-3).