Glenbard West had the momentum, but Naperville Central’s Nick Baskin had time and circumstance in his favor.
“I knew I had help if he got around me,” Baskin said, referring to Glenbard West junior standout Evan Taylor. “And they also needed a 3-pointer so I could go out and pressure him.”
Baskin, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, was called on to defend Taylor in the closing seconds of Wednesday night’s Class 4A Addison Trail Regional semifinal game.
Taylor’s off-balance 22-footer at the buzzer was wide and high as Naperville Central held on for a 54-51 win.
Naperville Central (20-9) plays Benet (24-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the regional title.
The Redhawks survived a late Hilltoppers rally as Taylor scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.
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Central missed five free throws and had two turnovers in the final 1:40 as what had been an 11-point lead (47-36) dwindled to three.
“We are normally a much better free-throw shooting team than that,” Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said.
The Redhawks utilized balance and two dominant first-half runs to seize control as seven players scored.
Baskin, who finished with nine points, made three 3-pointers as the Redhawks ended the first quarter with a 10-2 burst and punctuated a strong second quarter with a 10-0 flurry for a nine-point lead (22-13) at the break.
His unselfishness in sacrificing his offense to deny Taylor was crucial.
“He’s a great player,” Baskin said. “I knew he had a great mid-range game and he was very versatile and I had to take that away.”
Tyler O’Brien scored eight of his team-best 11 points in the fourth quarter for the Redhawks, while sophomore Cameron Dougherty and Daniel Rabb each scored 10 points. Rabb made two free throws with 30 seconds for a five-point edge.
Ben Wolf, a 6-8 senior center, fought off foul trouble to score all eight of his points in the second half.
“We share the ball and we look to pick each other up,” O’Brien said. “Our shots weren’t falling at the start, but we made the extra pass and looked for the open shooters.
“Eventually we got into a rhythm and started making shots.”
The Redhawks set benchmarks of winning 20 games and a regional. They achieved the first goal and moved one step closer to the second.
“I personally know a lot of the Benet players,” O’Brien said. “Many went to middle school in Naperville. It’s a great challenge and thrill to match up with them now.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.