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Welch, Naperville North outlast West Chicago

If there was any question about the health of Tom Welch entering the postseason, that was answered quickly Monday night.

The Naperville North senior drove the lane in the first quarter and threw down a monster dunk - one of three dunks he had in the contest - and eventually led the Huskies to a hard-fought 56-40 win over West Chicago at the Class 4A Glenbard West regional.

Welch, who missed the regular-season finale due to injury, tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds just in the first half. He finished with 31 points and 14 boards, including five offensive rebounds and baskets, as Naperville North (18-11) won its fourth in a row and advanced to Wednesday's regional semifinal against the host Hilltoppers.

"At this time of the year, everyone is 0-0," said Welch, who admitted his legs were fatigued after the time off. "It's weird to think that any of these games could be my last game. That kind of hit me yesterday. I want to keep playing with this team as long as we can.

"West Chicago was great, they shot the ball well. Their 3-point shooting was incredible. But we did what we had to do offensively and defensively to get the win. It's survive and advance at this point."

The Wildcats were indeed on fire from the perimeter, as all of their points minus four were via 3-pointers (West Chicago did not attempt a free throw). They made a dozen 3s in the game, 7 from senior Sam Ricci, who scored a team-high 23 points.

He knocked down two of those in the final quarter as West Chicago fought back from a 42-23 third-quarter deficit. Jordan Wilkins and Raed Haroon also made 3-pointers in the period as the Wildcats pulled to within 45-40. But they did not score again as Naperville North ended on an 11-0 spurt.

West Chicago finished with a record of 9-22, but 10 of those losses were by 6 points or less, according to coach Bill Recchia.

"We were right there," Recchia said. "This game is indicative of how we have played all year. We have battled teams and put ourselves in positions to win but just couldn't get over the hump.

"It's one of those things where our record also isn't indicative of the team we are. We are a solid team, just so many times we came up just short."

The Huskies led 11-8 after the opening eight minutes and extended that margin to 25-17 by halftime. A 17-6 run in the third gave them their largest advantage. Myles Barry also checked into double figures with 10 and Netzah Aldana and Riley Thompson had 6 each. Thompson added 7 rebounds and 2 steals.

"Credit to West Chicago," said coach Gene Nolan, in his first year at Naperville North. "Those are really, really tough kids West Chicago has. And their coach does a great job. We did a good job not fouling them and keeping them off the line, but they ran great stuff and got their shooters some good shots. I don't think we played as well as we need to play, but a lot of that had to do with West Chicago.

"We also have a great group of kids and I've really enjoyed coaching them. I'm glad we can come back to practice tomorrow with them. (As far as Wednesday) Glenbard West is really good, they have a great team. And we will be playing them on the road. It's an opportunity we look forward to."

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