Naperville North makes it 13 straight
It is said that a good defense in basketball can create offense. The Naperville North boys basketball team proved that again Friday night at Neuqua Valley.
The Huskies' defense played a hand in the Wildcats' 9 first-quarter turnovers, which boosted Naperville North to a 21-7 first-period lead en route to a 66-38 victory.
The victory boosted Naperville North to a 19-4 overall record and 11-2 in the DuPage Valley Conference and extended the team's winning streak to 13.
"Our traps were strong and our offense just flowed in. Lately, our defense has been key to our offense," said Huskies coach Jeff Powers.
When Neuqua coach Todd Sutton called a timeout with four minutes left in the opening quarter, the Huskies were ahead 10-2 and Naperville North was a warm 5 of 11 from the field. The Wildcats were just 1 of 5. The Huskies finished the first eight minutes of the game with 10-of-17 shooting and the team shot at least 50 percent for each quarter.
The Wildcats (11-14, 4-9) pulled to within 22-13 with 5:20 left until halftime on Nathan Scott's putback. The Huskies though finished the quarter on a 13-5 run to lead 35-18 at halftime.
Naperville North's Chris Johnson said one of the reasons for the Huskies' success this season is the team shot selection.
"We spread the floor offensively and all our shots are in rhythm. That wasn't the case early in the season," he said.
A free throw by Neuqua's Blaise Meredith with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter cut the Huskies' lead to 16. But a three-point play by Mitch Lewis and a 3-point basket by Winston Elston boosted Naperville North to a 48-26 advantage at the end of 24 minutes.
The final quarter saw Naperville North never lead by less than 22.
Youcef Merabet led the Huskies with 14 points. Lewis had 8 and Scott Smith 7. Meredith scored a game-high 19 for the Wildcats.
Merabet said that while it was important to focus on Meredith defensively, the Huskies couldn't ignore the rest of the lineup.
"We knew (Meredith) was a great shooter. The guy who was guarding him knew the other guys were doing their jobs as well," he said.
Sutton said Neuqua needs to find a solution to get a more balanced scoring attack.
"We've struggled offensively. I'm trying to get help for (Meredith). But it's hard to find," he said.
The next highest scorer for the Wildcats had 6 points.
Both teams return to action Tuesday with the Huskies hosting Naperville Central and Neuqua traveling to Wheaton North.
"We're just trying to get better. We emphasize each day to get better," Merabet said.