Naperville Central looking for answers to scoring woes

Since storming out of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic with a tournament title and a 9-3 record, it’s been a bit of a struggle for Naperville Central.

In three of the Redhawks’ last five games specifically, the usually high-scoring group has fallen well below their normal point total. Naperville Central managed only 38 points in a loss at Dubuque (Iowa) Senior and on consecutive Fridays fell 75-40 to West Aurora and 50-47 to Wheaton Warrenville South.

“We’re trying to find five guys who can play consistently together,” said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. “We’ve been struggling to score since after Christmas. We were averaging 60 points a game and now we’re hoping to break 40.”

Naperville Central certainly has shown its potential this season with a balance of youth and experience, a combination that shined in Tuesday’s win over Hinsdale Central. Six-foot-eight sophomore Nick Czarnowski, who scored 26 points on Tuesday, and sophomore shooter Austin Pauga in particular have the ability to carry the offense.

The Redhawks will continue to try and get back on track in Friday’s home game against Glenbard North.

“We’re young, and I know that, but we have some seniors that have been around a while, too,” Kramer said. “It’s not just the young guys, it’s the whole team.”

It’s official:Rich Bodee#146;s 26 points led four Montini players in double figures in Tuesday#146;s 72-67 nonconference win over Elmwood Park. With that Brian Opoka#146;s Broncos earned their 12th win of the season to surpass their wins total of the prior three seasons. Battered Blazers:Addison Trail is battling through some injuries, and the hits just keep on coming.Blazers coach Brendan Lyons recently shut down leading scorer James Pupillo after the sophomore guard started feeling the effects of a long season. #147;James has been battling injuries all year, so we just decided that right now he needs rest,#148; Lyons said. #147;He tried to give it a go against Willowbrook, and he just wasn#146;t at full strength.#148;In Saturday#146;s loss to West Chicago, Blazers senior forward Tyler Little went down with a dislocated finger. The trainer managed to pop the finger back in place, but Little sat the rest of the game for precautionary reasons even though he wanted to return to action.The Blazers were left with a thin roster of nine players with Little out, but Lyons saw a silver lining in being short-handed.#147;It#146;s an opportunity for other people to step up,#148; Lyons said. #147;You have to take advantage of time you get because you don#146;t know when it#146;s going to happen, and you don#146;t know when it might be your last opportunity to go in there and do something.#148;Stepping up:When Downers Grove South leading scorer Jerron Wilbut was suspended for all of last week, including practices, the timing could have been difficult with three games on the schedule.The Mustangs, however, rolled to their fifth straight win as players like Jordan Cannon and Kevin Honn stepped up. With Wilbut out, opposing teams started throwing a box-and-one defense at third-year starting guard Jamall Millison, which freed up other players to take over.Honn, another third-year varsity player, came through with 63 points in the three wins that came by a huge margin. The 6-foot-5 forward added 21 rebounds and 8 steals. #147;We#146;ve always known Kevin was a good player,#148; said Mustangs coach Jay Baum. #147;And there#146;s been a little bit of taking a back seat to Jerron and Jamall.#148;Wilbut, who#146;s averaging 19.5 points a game, is expected to return for Saturday#146;s West Suburban Gold game against Leyden.It#146;s a Shootout:Wheaton Academy on Saturday will host its first Class 3A shootout featuring a trio of games.Kaneland and Nazareth square off at 4:30 p.m. Bloomington and Rochelle follow at 6 p.m. and, in a rematch of last year#146;s 3A Wheaton Academy regional final, Paul Ferguson#146;s Warriors will face Lewis Thorpe#146;s North Lawndale Phoenix at 7:30 p.m. #147;They#146;re a tenacious pressing team, and coach Thorpe#146;s a great coach,#148; Ferguson said. #147;We went nose to nose with them last year in that regional championship game and we got them, but it was really close (66-52, Warriors), and the Shootout is a repeat of that game.#148;Ferguson sent out emails to a variety of Class 3A teams he felt would provide a mini-preview of the upcoming state tournament. He timed it so as not to affect playoff seeds, which the Illinois High School Association determined for 3A and 4A this week. Kaneland has never faced Nazareth, and Ferguson said Bloomington and Rochelle wanted to play each other due to #147;a little bit of a rivalry.#148; Kaneland and Rochelle also will enjoy the opportunity of in-house scouting; their game on Feb. 24 may well be for the Northern Illinois Big 12 East Conference title.As for Wheaton Academy, it is in the Class 3A Glenbard South sectional as well as North Lawndale.#147;From my perspective any time we get a chance to play a quality team from the city that#146;s going to pressure us and force us to play a really up-tempo game, it#146;s only going to prepare us for our sectional,#148; Ferguson said.Salute to D#146;AmicoTuesday at Lisle, before Kazim Khan scored 30 points to help the Lions defeat Seneca 62-50, former Lisle coach Mark D#146;Amico was honored. Lions coach Mark LaScala rattled off the accomplishments of the man he called a #147;coaching legend.#148; D#146;Amico won 20 or more games in all but two of 22 Hall of Fame seasons. Among D#146;Amico#146;s other achievements were eight Interstate Eight Conference titles, a 411-195 record for a 68 winning percentage, six regional titles and the Class A downstate berth in 2003.LaScala said that all four paid coaches in the Lisle boys program #8212; himself, varsity assistant David Sally, sophomore coach Rick Cyrus and freshman coach Ron Jaegle #8212; played for D#146;Amico.About 30 former players representing four decades showed up to pay their respects. Todd Evans, a member of the Class of 1993, flew in from Dallas. He was a freshman when LaScala was a senior. LaScala told the crowd D#146;Amico said he#146;d be headed #147;to the beach#148; in his retirement. One of his going-away gifts was a package of sand dug from the long jump pit of Lisle Junior High#146;s Wilde Field. More likely D#146;Amico will be watching his son Jeremy, a junior forward at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.Khan had D#146;Amico as a drivers education instructor, from which he retired in January. #147;He#146;s a real cool guy, and I appreciate him,#148; Khan said. #147;He#146;s a funny guy. He taught me more life lessons than driving. I mean, the man tells stories. He#146;s got a million stories for every incident.#148;Knight timeImmaculate Conception, which deservedly earned the No. 1 seed at the Class 2A Westmont regional of the Lisle sectional, is approaching a number of program landmarks.At 20-2 entering Friday#146;s game against struggling Guerin, Darren Howard#146;s Knights have four regular-season games left including a Feb. 15 game against a tough Elgin squad.IC already has won the most games since the 1984-85 team went 23-7. Some favorable results could see the Knights surpassing the program#146;s all-time mark, set in 1966-67 at 24-3.Also, IC has a half-game lead over Walther Lutheran in the Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division. Should the Knights beat Guerin and Montini defeat Walther on Friday it would clinch IC#146;s first conference title since that 1966-67 season. Otherwise, it#146;ll go down to Feb. 17 when IC hosts Walther Lutheran.