Three losses. Make that three tough losses. But Naperville North’s Zeke Williams, carrying over the football mentality to basketball, brushed off any bad thoughts.
Completely.
“Our message this week was staying tough,” Williams said. “We got blown out three times at Thanksgiving, but we still had that chip on our shoulder.
“We wanted to have the feeling of being out to get people.”
The 6-foot-1 senior guard got going Friday night. He scored a game-high 16 points as the Huskies rallied for a 47-40 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Neuqua Valley.
Williams, a Northern Illinois football recruit, scored 10 points in the second half to help Naperville North (2-3, 1-0) recover from an eight-point deficit in the third quarter.
“It wasn’t just me,” said Williams, who also had nine rebounds, three steals and three assists. “It was the bench players and the crowd that got me going.”
Sophomore guard Luke Kinkade opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers as Neuqua (3-3, 0-1) established an early advantage.
The Wildcats went ice cold over the final 12 minutes, however, scoring just two baskets after matching their largest lead at 34-26 on a 3-pointer by senior guard Jayden Dean.
“We had the momentum in the third quarter,” said Dean said, who finished with nine points. “But at the end of the day, we just didn’t make shots we normally make. We did not convert on our chances.”
Senior forward Cole Vonnahme contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for Neuqua. His layup at the start of the fourth built Neuqua’s final lead at 38-37.
Then the drought hit. Neuqua shot just 14% (4 of 27) in the second half.
“We have been working a lot in practice on shooting and finishing against zones,” Vonnahme said. “Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we wanted, but this is something we are going to continue to work on.”
A quicksilver guard, Williams used his speed and explosiveness off the dribble to get to the basket.
Williams’ younger Luke, a sophomore guard, was limited by foul trouble. Zeke found another savvy running mate in senior guard Jake Torcasio.
Torcasio scored a career-high 14 points, showing both accuracy from long range with a pair of 3-pointers and the ability to score in transition.
He sparked a 9-0 run for the Huskies in the third with consecutive steals he turned into breakaways. His drive at the end of the quarter gave Naperville North its first lead of the second half at 35-34.
“We have worked on defense for so long,” Torcasio said. “That just gave me the opportunity to go out there and get the ball.
“The difference probably came down to the little things — taking charges or knowing who their shooters are.”
The Huskies are coming of age with sophomore starters in Luke Williams and Cole Arl and a key sophomore reserve in Bryce Welch.
Welch finished with six points, including a crucial turnaround in the lane.
“They’re coming out of their shell,” Zeke Williams said. “They are starting to click with us.”
Senior forward Vaughn Beallis also added six points for the Huskies, sealing the victory with a late steal and layup in the closing seconds. Andrew Dawson also had a crucial offensive rebound off a missed free throw.
“Our mindset was just to finish the game,” Williams said.
Now, he is set out to achieve a rare double.
In football, Williams helped the Huskies defeat Neuqua Valley in the DVC championship game.
This was the first step.
“We’re out to win the conference,” Williams said. “To do that, we have to win these hard games,
“We are coming. We did it in football, and now we want to do it in basketball as well.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.