Naperville Central keeps battling

Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer had one message for his team after a slow first half against Hinsdale Central: keep battling.

Despite connecting on only 5-of-25 first-half field goals, the Redhawks stayed with their opponent for all four quarters. They took the lead for only the third time with 50 seconds left on a baseline 3-pointer from Mike Blaszceyk and held on for a 51-44 nonconference road victory.

"We struggled in the last few games and it carried over in the first half, but we were battling, competing and playing like we're capable of playing," Kramer said. "In the second half we came out of it by gutting it out and fighting through the frustrations. It was an unselfish effort by our team tonight."

Sophomore center Nick Czarnowski led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, including a stretch in the third quarter when he scored 10 straight to keep Hinsdale Central's lead from growing.

"It was the delivery of the passes from my teammates," Czarnowski said. "They did a good job of making the extra passes and looking inside."

Naperville Central (13-9) finally started overcoming its shooting woes as the third quarter started. The Redhawks connected on 4 of their first 5 second-half shots, including a short jumper and a 3-pointer by Austin Pauga.

Czarnowski's inside bucket with 5:30 left in the third quarter put his team up 24-22, but Hinsdale Central (13-8) tallied on the ensuing possession when Brad Anlauf scored a basket inside and was fouled on the play. He knocked down the free throw to put his team back up 25-24.

The Red Devils' lead never got higher than 4 in the third quarter as the Redhawks began finding Czarnowski underneath. He tied the game at 32-32, but another inside basket and free throw by Hinsdale Central, this time from Chase Hamilton with 2.9 seconds left, put the Red Devils back up by 3 heading into the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Brian Owens to start the fourth quarter extended Hinsdale Central's lead to 38-32, but Pauga answered with a 3 of his own.

The Redhawks began to chip away at the slim margin with two more inside baskets by Czarnowski, before Blaszceyk connected on the game-winning 3-pointer. His baseline 3 put Naperville Central up 45-44 and the Redhawks made all 6 of their free throw attempts in the final 33 seconds to seal the win.

"That was a play designed for Mike (Blaszceyk)," Kramer said of the game-winner. "He's just so capable of making that shot."