North boys basketball picks up dominant win against Benet

The Naperville North boys varsity basketball team dominated against Benet Academy on Saturday, picking up their second win this week.

The Naperville North Huskies (3-3, 1-1) defeated the Benet Academy Redwings (4-1, 2-0) by a score of 43-30.

The Huskies got off to a fast start on the defensive end, holding the Redwings to just six points in the first quarter. Although they played great defense, the Huskies couldn’t get in an offensive rhythm. The game turned heavily in the Huskies’ favor when they started forcing Redwing turnovers and scored in transition. North ended up outscoring Benet 12-0 in the second quarter. Many Huskies contributed to their dominance in the first half, including freshman Luke Williams. Senior Grant Johnson attributed their success to the preparation and focus the team had coming into this game.

“We were really happy with our effort and I thought the whole team played really well today,” Johnson said.

Although the Huskies were in the lead most of the second half, the Redwings went on a run to come within single digits because of threes by senior Luke Nolan. As the Redwings started to pick it up on the offensive end, the Huskies continued to run great offense through senior Liam Kim. Even though fan attendance was limited, the Huskies bench still managed to give their teammates a huge boost down the stretch to close out the game. Johnson credits their success at home with his team’s willingness to continue to push the guys on the court.

“It’s super exciting when the guys are making so much noise and it feels like a true home game,” Johnson said.

The Huskies have gotten two important wins in a row and senior Jacob Scharm wants to carry the momentum of this game into a big conference matchup next week.

“This win gives us confidence going into next week when we play Waubonsie, that we can compete with anybody,” Scharm said.

The Huskies will continue their season on Feb. 23 at Waubonsie Valley. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 P.M.