The Naperville North boys’ varsity basketball team defeated Perspectives High School at home on Saturday, January 10th.
The Huskies (15-4) beat the Wolves (7-8) with a final score of 52-33.
The lead went back and forth constantly throughout a tightly contested first quarter. Scoring contributions from Senior point guard Max Steele (5), Junior shooting guard Jack Zitko (12) kept the game even. With a few minutes remaining, Zitko sunk a deep three to give the Huskies a 4 point lead, and after a Wolves response, Senior shooting guard Carson Loughlin (1) managed to extend the lead to 5 to result in a score of 15-12 to enter the second quarter.
The Huskies opened the second quarter fired up. Their defense intensity ramped up, pushing the Wolves off balance and allowing the Huskies to add 7 points to their lead. Once the Wolves seemed to finally regain their footing, Senior point guard Antonio Brown Jr. (11) sank a deep corner three-pointer that halted any remaining Wolves energy. Senior shooting guard Miles Okyne (4) completed a layup to end the half with the Huskies leading the Wolves 31-20. Okyne reflected on the shift in momentum from the first to second quarter.
“We just started looking to attack the glass more and also cut off everything that they were trying to do as in shooting, driving to the basket, and also stopping them in transition. It was definitely a huge defensive motivator,” Okyne said.
Perspectives opened the second half with intensity but North responded even stronger. After key defensive contributions from Senior center Will Harvey (22), Okyne and Zitko were able to make incredible drives to the rim to fortify the Huskies lead by fifteen. Wolves responded quickly, limiting the lead to just six points. A Huskie timeout allowed the offense to regain control of the game. After a few layups from Okyne and Loughlin, Naperville North was once again leading comfortably 43-29.
The Wolves came out of the break with intensity, immediately scoring two free throws. The Huskies returned with lockdown defense. Harvey controlled the boards, allowing Loughlin and Okyne to lengthen the lead even further with layup after layup. With less than a minute remaining, Senior point guard Darian Azarbad (14) sank a stunning deep three-pointer to close out the game. Harvey remarked on his rebounding dominance.
“Rebounds are a huge momentum swinging thing, offensively especially… Getting physical, putting a body on guys, getting in good positions to try and get some momentum going,” Harvey said.
The Huskies were forced to make a quick transition from the previous night’s loss against Nequa. Head coach Gene Nolan emphasized the importance of mindset and preparation.
“It’s just a mentality. We played a late game last night, but so did everybody else right? We just have to be prepared to play 32 minutes, 94 feet, and [there is] a lot to learn from today,” Nolan said.
The Naperville North varsity boys’ basketball team will play their next game on Saturday, January 17th, 6:30pm on the road against the Oswego Panthers.
