Naperville Central defense stifles Streamwood
Naperville Central is hoping for the slingshot effect.
An inconsistent boys basketball team throughout the first half of the season, the Redhawks will enter next Friday's DuPage Valley Conference rivalry matchup against Naperville North riding their first winning streak of the season, courtesy of Thursday's 51-28 dismantling of Streamwood on the final day of the 37th Annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic.
The win gives Naperville Central (5-8) back-to-back victories for the first time this season. The Redhawks defeated Deerfield Wednesday on the heels of tournament losses to Prospect and Kenwood.
“We wanted to get another W, two in a row,” said Redhawks senior David Niggins, who led all players in scoring (14 points) and rebounds (10). “We needed it, too. Now we have some good momentum going into that next game. We have to get this one against North.”
Streamwood (4-10) didn't resemble the team that knocked off Vernon Hills in overtime a day earlier. The Sabres were held to 4 points in the first quarter and the Redhawks outscored them 17-1 in the second quarter to take a 25-5 halftime lead. Streamwood did not hit a field goal for the final 10:38 of the first half, a span in which the Sabres were outscored 22-1.
“I think we were very intimidated by them and I don't know why,” Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. “I mean, they're a very good basketball team. They beat us up inside for a while.
“But I thought we would be able to pressure them with our guards and our guards did not play very well. It didn't matter who it was, we didn't play very well.”
Streamwood was held to 15 points through three quarters of play, led by 12 points from 6-foot-4 senior Mike Montgomery. The other four starters were held scoreless.
The Redhawks picked off 6 Streamwood passes on the perimeter and turned them into breakaway layups. The highlight was a steal and two-handed rim-rattler by Niggins with 5:58 left in the second quarter, which made it 14-5 in Central's favor.
Redhawks freshman Nick Czarnowski closed the second quarter with 3 straight buckets scored via polished post moves. The 6-foot-6 forward finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds after missing his first 2 shots.
“I had a little bit of trouble at first, but I started getting my legs under me and it led me straight to the hoop,” Czarnowski said.
The Redhawks won the turnover battle (16-10), dominated the boards (31-17) and scored multiple layups to boost their shooting percentage to 50 percent (22 of 44).
“We've been really up and down to this point and I think our kids are starting to mature a little bit,” Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. They're starting to believe in each other and settle into their roles.
“I thought our defense was outstanding. That's a tribute to the kids for believing in each other and believing in what we're trying to do. It's taken some time, but we're slowly getting there.”
Senior guard Mike Schremp came off the bench to score 10 points for the Redhawks.