Naperville North’s boys basketball team (11-10, 4-3 DuPage Valley Conference) lost a close game on Friday, Feb. 6 in a crosstown matchup for a cause.

The game was played in honor of the late Mikey Gustafson, who passed away two years ago from a pediatric brain tumor. With one of the largest Dawg Pounds ever seen in a non-playoff basketball game, $1,800 was raised for the Swifty Foundation. Senior Justin Azzaro, who serves as a board member on the Swifty Foundation, said that such enthusiastic support continues Gustafson’s legacy.

“It was really awesome to have both schools come together to support Swifty,” Azzaro said. “One of our main goals as a foundation is to spread awareness about the underfunding in pediatric cancer research today, and it’s events like this that help us accomplish these goals.”

While the night proved successful for the Swifty Foundation, the Huskies fell short to the Redhawks. With a strong rebound game and heavy intensity in the third quarter, Naperville Central (15-10, 4-4 DVC) left with the victory, 44-40. NNHS head coach Jeff Powers recognized his team’s inability to keep their momentum after the half, noting NCHS’ strong defensive presence.

“I think the biggest thing happened more in the third quarter when we had a four-point lead and their offensive intensity overtook us,” Powers said. “I think it was basically that we didn’t knock down free-throws at the end of the game, and we hit some tough shots.”

Sophomore guard Cam Hardy and senior center Baylor Griffin led NNHS’ scoring with 11 points apiece. Griffin led the team in rebounds, snagging two offensively and six on the defense. NNHS named Hardy the “Player of the Game” on Friday, with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

By the end of the first quarter, the Redhawks had a 9-7 edge over the Huskies. Both teams fought heavy on defense. As a result, offense on both sides of the court started slowly, with a combined total of six field goals attempted in the period.

The momentum shifted from one side of the court to the other as both teams fought to take and keep the lead. Within 20 seconds of the half, the Huskies led 17-15. And as the clock began ticking down, Hardy connected with senior center Deon Merrill for an alley-oop dunk, making the halftime score 19-15.

Thanks to NCHS’ strong rebounding and high-intensity offense, the Redhawks gained a 23-20 lead in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, NCHS went on a nine-point drive, allowing only a free-throw during their run. According to Griffin, the Huskies were simply outplayed.

“We were out-rebounded, and they beat us to the 50-50 balls,” Griffin said. “They played with an edge, and we couldn’t match it. We just got pounded, and we couldn’t match it.”

With just over a minute left in the game, NCHS seemed poised to finish the Huskies off with a double-digit lead. Yet, a three-point shot by senior guard Zac Tuxhorn reignited the Huskies’ offense and pushed the game 39-43.

With 3.6 seconds remaining, Hardy stood at the free-throw line. He sunk the first shot, putting the game within one three-point shot. Hardy then intentionally missed his second, with hopes that NNHS would recover. Redhawk Guard Mark Nowak got the rebound, and Tuxhorn intentionally fouled him. Nowak sunk one of his two free-throws, sinking any remaining hopes for NNHS.

According to Hardy, NNHS will head into practice this week to prepare for Wheaton Warrenville South (9-13, 2-5 DVC), who they will play next Friday.

“It all starts in practice,” Hardy said. “Whatever we do in practice has to execute over into the game. We just have to get ready and ball out.”