Naperville North celebrates DVC championship
Shortly after Naperville North boys basketball coach Jeff Powers finished trimming the last piece of twine from the home baskets, the official word came down.
The Huskies are outright DuPage Valley Conference champions.
Naperville North did its part on Wednesday by beating visiting Glenbard North 65-51, a win that clinched a share of the program's first title since 1998.
Combined with Glenbard East's 70-62 win over West Aurora, the crown belongs only to the Huskies (19-7, 12-2).
"It feels great," said Huskies guard Chris Mullen. "Since the beginning of the season we've been wanting the DVC. We had an opportunity tonight and we took advantage of it."
Both sides enjoyed sizable advantages including an 18-8 first-quarter lead by Glenbard North (14-11, 9-5) and a 38-27 halftime lead for the Huskies.
At the start of the fourth quarter, though, a steal and basket by the Panthers' Justin Jackson knotted the score at 46-46.
That's when Naperville North seized command. David Sinickas scored on a putback and hit a 3-pointer, leading to additional 3s by Mike Keane and Kyle Lindberg that quickly ballooned the lead to 57-48 with 5:34 left in the game.
Glenbard North pulled within 6 points, but Matt Stacho and Lindberg hit all eight of their free-throw attempts in the final 2:39 to seal the win.
"We were late getting out and they knocked down the shots," said Glenbard North coach Joe Larson. "When we play solid defensively and give great effort, we're pretty tough to score against. When we get fatigued, we don't get out on shooters or we don't give second effort or third effort on rebounds, that's when we give up some points."
The Panthers played short-handed without starters Robin Paye and Ryan Krueger, who was hurt on Saturday, but they stayed close even with three sophomores on the court during stretches.
Josh Fleming led Glenbard North with 13 points, while Jackson scored 10 points and dished 5 assists.
Naperville North showed typical balance by placing four players in double-figure scoring. Stacho had 11 points while Derek Westman, Keane and Sinickas had 10 points apiece.
"I am just so proud of our kids," said Huskies coach Jeff Powers. "They have a personality that's unique. They are so fun and so competitive. It's just a great moment."