It doesn’t get much better than when Naperville Central and Naperville North lock up.
The two teams play again this Friday night at Naperville North, having split the last six meetings. The Huskies won 52-46 on Dec. 12.
Baylor Griffin, a senior, led Naperville North with 14 points, while Jelani McClain had 10 points. Nate Dahl paced the Redhawks with 17 points, while Matt Meier added 14.
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Ironically, the visiting team has won the previous three games.
“We’ve got to try to fix that this coming weekend,” Griffin said. “I’m 2-0 at their place but still haven’t beat them at North in my career.”
That doesn’t mean a boisterous student section isn’t advantageous. The Huskies fed off of that in an upset victory against Lake Park last Friday night.
“We got everyone to come to that game,” Griffin said. “We told everyone it was a big game because they’re in first place and word got out and a lot of people came out. I expect the same (on Friday).”
Since it’s been about six weeks since they last played each other, both teams have changed a bit. The Huskies (11-8, 5-2) are regularly starting three sophomores, and senior Deon Merrill’s role has grown substantially.
The Redhawks (13-10, 3-3) are still trying to find a balance of guard play from Meier, Nate Dahl and Manny Rugamba and the inside presence of Alex Pomeroy and Harry Hallstrom.
“We’ve been trying to get it inside to the post and spread the floor more,” Dahl said. “The last time we played them we left some shooters wide open so we’ll try to limit that. I think if we do that we should be able to compete.”
Highs and lows
Naperville North got an impressive win, handing Lake Park its first conference loss on Friday, but ran out of gas in the second half in a loss to St. Charles East on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies only trailed the Saints by two at halftime, but yielded 46 points in the second half to lose 82-63. St. Charles East standout Cole Gentry scored 33.
“They were extremely good,” Griffin said. “Not sure what happened in the third quarter. We were going hard but they kept hitting shots.”
Three in a row
Neuqua Valley appears destined for its third consecutive Upstate Eight Valley title.
The Wildcats (20-3, 10-1) have four conference games remaining and only one against a winning team, but it’s also a team they beat earlier this year.
That team would be conference newcomer West Aurora (14-6, 6-2). The Blackhawks visit Neuqua Valley on Feb. 13.
Connor Raridon scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats to a 52-47 win when they played in December.
“The first time we played was a good, close game and we know that they’re toward the top of conference,” he said. “We’re going to take it one game at a time, focus on Glenbard East (11-12) this Friday.”
The Wildcats also have conference games against Waubonsie Valley (7-13) and East Aurora (5-13).
“We just have to focus on every conference game because they’re all important to winning a championship,” he said. “They’re all going to give their best shot and try to knock us off.”
If they’re capable of winning another conference championship, it’ll be the first time in program history that they’ve won three straight.
Conrad career day
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Benet senior Kevin Conrad was in the zone on Saturday, shooting 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in a 47-42 victory against Limestone.
Conrad’s nine points led the Redwings and bested his season-high of six that he tallied against York on Dec. 13.