Special to the North Star
The Naperville North boys’ varsity basketball team defeated Blue Island Eisenhower High School at home on Saturday, January 31st.
The Huskies (19-6) beat the Cardinals (4-18) with a final score of 65-35.
The Huskies jumped right out of the gate in the first quarter with an 8-0 run. Scoring contributions from Senior Point Guard Miles Okyne (4) and Junior Shooting Guard Jack Zitko (12) helped to give the Huskies an early lead. With the Huskies rolling, Senior Center Will Harvey (22) dove on a loose ball and passed to Zitko to score, extending the lead to 12-0. Great ball movement allowed Okyne to find Senior Shooting Guard Carson Loughlin (1) open at the baseline, extending the lead to 21 points to end the quarter.
The Huskies opened the second quarter by staying explosive. Their aggressive defense was shown by racking up a total of six steals with 6:49 remaining in the quarter. The Cardinals tried to respond by finally scoring but Okyne responded with a deep three-pointer, pushing the lead to 38-3. The Cardinals continued to fight back buta layup by Harvey ended the half with the Huskies leading 42-13. Harvey explained how his team’s defense led to them starting strong with a 21-point lead in the first quarter.
“When we play great defense, you know, we put a great product out there. So we just got to continue to play great defense. You know, that’s the key for us. Every day in practice is stressed in playing phenomenal defense,” Harvey said.
The Cardinals opened the second half trying to flip the script. They got the Huskies in foul trouble early as the Cardinal Captain and Junior Forward, Logan Tasciotti (30), sank two free throws. The Huskies then called a timeout, which helped them regain control with Senior Shooting Guard Jake Victor (25) knocking down a deep three-pointer. With five seconds remaining in the quarter, Junior Nolan Scarbrough (30) made a contested layup as the Huskies took a commanding 53-27 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Huskies were dominant on the boards which created easy scoring opportunities. Junior Guard Auggie Abdelkodous (21) stole the ball from the Cardinals and cruised down the court for an “and-one” layup. The Huskies continued to dominate the game, which ended with a dominant 65-35 score. Nolan Scarbrough commented on how relentless effort is key to a successful game..
“You know, you gotta go hard all the time regardless of what the score is or who’s in. And everybody just goes one hundred percent at all times,” Scarbrough said.
The Huskies showed excellent defense throughout the whole game, consistently making it hard for the Cardinals to put up good shots. Quick rotations created multiple turnovers that led to easy fast-break opportunities. Head Coach Gene Nolan remarked on his team’s defensive effort from the opening tip.
“I thought our kids were active defensively. I thought we did a nice job getting deflections, our rotations, our cover downs, and rebounding to finish possessions. And I thought our kids gave a really good effort,” said Nolan.
The Naperville North varsity boys’ basketball team will play their next game on Friday, February 6th, at 7:00 p.m. on the road against the Metea Valley Mustangs.
