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player ready...As much as he would be asked to contribute offensively, Tyler O’Brien’s job Friday night against Waubonsie Valley was as clear as day.
The Warriors are led by all-conference guard Eric Cannon. O’Brien, a senior guard for Naperville Central, readily accepted the challenge.
For 30 minutes, O’Brien and the Redhawks kept Cannon scoreless en route to a 51-40 DuPage Valley victory in Naperville.
“All week, we really wanted to focus on bringing up our energy on defense,” O’Brien said. “I think we shied away from that the past few games. That’s caused us to lose a few. We haven’t been as energized on defense as we are on offense.
“So we really wanted to bring that back and we worked on it. We knew Cannon was their best player and we had to respect him. We did a good job.”
O’Brien’s team-high 15 points helped Naperville Central (18-6, 9-3) win for the fifth time in six games.
Sophomore Cam Dougherty and senior Dillon Kane added nine points each for the Redhawks, who took a 20-8 lead into halftime.
That was a far cry from the 26 points they scored in 32 minutes against the Warriors on Dec. 15 in a 28-26 loss.
“It’s huge,” Dougherty said. “One of our goals is 20 wins and we needed this big time to get there. Obviously, bounce-back game, and we owed them from a terrible loss in December.”
Cannon ended up with five points for the Warriors (11-14, 5-7), who were led by sophomore forward Marcus Skeete’s game-high 16 points.
Down 15 points with 5:03 left in the third following Kane’s basket, Waubonsie ended the quarter on a 9-2 run.
A basket from O’Brien and a 3-pointer from Kane to start the fourth put momentum back in the Redhawks’ corner.
In the fourth, Naperville Central shot 16-for-22 from the free-throw line to seal the win, with O’Brien and senior Nick Baskin combining to go 13-for-14.
“Just have to let the game come to me,” O’Brien said. “I know my role on the team is to bring the ball up and get us into our offense and keep us under control on the offensive end.
“So I’m not worried about shots or points all the time. I’m just worried that we get the win.”
Waubonsie coach Jason Mead took responsibility for the slow start as Naperville Central never trailed.
“We were playing a little bit more aggressive in the third quarter,” Mead said. “You can’t score eight points in a half and think you’re going to win a game. We really weren’t aggressive in the first half.
“(The Redhawks) just imposed their will on us by playing harder than us and taking better shots than us.”
Blake Baumgartner is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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