Jelani McClain took a hit, rolled in a tough shot in the first minute and gave a knowing grin to Naperville North coach Jeff Powers.
It was North’s night, albeit a grind.
McClain and the Huskies built an eight-point halftime lead Friday and held on to beat DuPage Valley Conference rival Naperville Central 40-36 in front of a huge crowd at North.
It was an emotional night for McClain.
North (12-3, 5-1) is a junior-dominant team, but in many ways McClain is the heart of the Huskies. McClain, a rugged senior point guard and a four-year varsity player, had not beaten Central at home since he was a freshman.
“We said we were going to come out on fire and fight,” McClain said. “Last home game against Central, it was very emotional. I don’t want it to be over. I’m going to hold on to this win right now.”
McClain scored all eight of his points in the first half, and Winston Elston had seven of his 11.
McClain’s coast-to-coast score pushed North ahead 11-10 in a first quarter that featured four lead changes. McClain’s whirling runner later made it 22-14, and his fourth basket staked North to a 26-18 halftime lead.
“I thought Jelani played a phenomenal game,” Powers said. “He was outstanding.”
The two teams entered in a three-way tie with Lake Park atop the DVC. North, which already beat Lake Park once, has won seven of eight. The Huskies last won the league in the 2011-12 season.
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“We’re feeling good. I like the momentum we’re on,” Elston said. “Just got to keep it rolling.”
An 11-0 run pushed the Huskies ahead 20-10 in the second quarter, and they still led 35-29 after three.
North, though, went the entire fourth quarter without making a field goal. Matthew Meier’s 3-pointer with 2:28 closed Central (9-6, 4-2) to within 37-34.
Mitch Lewis and Elston had steals in the last 1:17, Elston taking it from a stumbling Meier on the drive and sinking two free throws to clinch.
“We have a lot of great athletes, but defense is the most important,” said Lewis, who had 10 points and five rebounds. “Defense is what wins championships.”
Meier scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half for Central, which dropped its fourth straight game. Meier’s two free throws midway through the first quarter gave the Redhawks their last lead at 10-9.
Harry Hallstrom added six points and six rebounds for Central, which was held to a season-low point total.
“Crosstown rivalry teams are going to make runs, and they made theirs,” Meier said. “It was hard to play catch-up the rest of the game. We struggled to execute our offense.”
Meier was 2 for 7 in the second half after keeping Central close in the first.
“We had to stop Meier because he was killing us,” Powers said. “We really buckled down. (Chris) Sullivan got in there a little bit, Mitch got in there a little bit, and then Cam (Hardy) really dug down and didn’t let him penetrate.
“We’ve lost so many games to them here and won over there, so this was fun to win at our place.”
Josh Welge is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.