Naperville North defeats Glenbard North

Naperville North's Mitch Lewis isn't 100 percent yet. But he's getting close.

Lewis, who missed the Huskies' first 10 games with a left foot injury, had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to lead Naperville North to a 71-54 victory Tuesday over visiting Glenbard North. The win allowed Naperville North (18-4, 11-1) to remain two games up on Lake Park in the DuPage Valley Conference.

Lewis either scored or hand a hand in 9 of Naperville North's first 19 points. His rebound basket midway through the second quarter ignited a 21-6 run that allowed the Huskies to extend a 25-21 lead to 46-27 with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter. His coast-to-coast basket a few minutes later gave Naperville North its biggest lead of the game at 50-30.

Lewis said it wasn't difficult getting acclimated to his teammates after his return. It was just hard keeping up.

"We've all been playing together since junior high, so I knew how everybody plays," he said. "It was just a matter of getting myself back in shape. I could really tell they were a lot faster than me. I'm getting there. I feel good. I just need to get my body in shape."

Tuesday's game was a far cry from the first meeting between the two teams, a 44-42 nailbiter won by the Huskies on a three-point play by sophomore Chris Johnson with 10 seconds remaining. This time the Huskies took an early lead and were never headed.

"I played the first game at their house and we only won by two, so this a big difference from back then," Lewis said. "I think we're getting better game by game. I think our defense is the difference. Defense wins championships. We need to play defense, stay hungry and just keep on going."

Naperville North's defense was particularly stingy early in the third quarter, keeping Glenbard North off the board for the first three minutes before Nick LaVere ended the drought with a 3-pointer.

"Joe (Glenbard North coach Larson) made a nice change to start the second half," Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said. "He was switching how they were running guys through the post. That's the hard side of the court because we can't yell at the kids. But they were yelling at each other so they took ownership of their defense."

Meanwhile, Lewis and Jelani McClain made sure the Huskies' offense was clicking.

"Credit the other guys," Powers said. "They stepped up when Mitch wasn't there, and now that he's there they're learning how to play with Mitch. You got to be moving because he is a not a score-first guy, he's a pass-first guy. If you're open, you're going to get the basketball."

Camaron Hardy added 13 points for Naperville North. Glenbard North (8-13, 4-8) got 13 points from sophomore Greg Newsome and 9 points from Kibet Chepyator.