The calendar may only read Dec. 9, but Tuesday night was something Naperville North desperately needed.
Twelve different players scored as Naperville North nearly led wire-to-wire and by as many as 24 points en route to cruising to a 66-49 victory over Marmion in Naperville.
Of the 12 Huskies to score, three of them—sophomore Mitch Lewis, senior Baylor Griffin and junior Jelani McClain—ended up in double figures as Jeff Powers’ team snapped a two-game losing streak in the midst of notching their season high in points as a team.
“Definitely. Definitely. There was more chemistry (Tuesday) night,” Powers said. “Better defense, a little bit more intensity. I think Baylor Griffin might have been the best player on the floor. If he wasn’t, Mitch Lewis might have been the next best. They were very, very good out there.”
Lewis, who came in averaging 7.8 points a game over the course of his first six career varsity games, had 12 of his team-high 15 points in the first half as the Huskies ended the half with a 29-14 run.
Thanks to both McClain and Lewis, who pulled down seven rebounds, the Huskies got baskets to beat the buzzer in both quarters of the first half.
McClain’s floater in the lane to end the first matched the Huskies’ biggest lead up to that point at five points while a rebound and circus shot from Lewis ended the first half with Naperville North comfortably in front at 33-18.
“I just keep my composure and I know that my team has got my back and just go from there,” Lewis said.
While Lewis did most of his work in the opening half, Griffin and McClain came alive at different parts of the second half to help Naperville North (3-4) keep Marmion at bay.
Griffin chipped in with 14 points, including coming through with consecutive baskets late in the third to help the Huskies extend their lead to 21 points, and McClain added eight of his 12 points in the second half.
Before the Huskies extended their late out late in the third, Marmion (2-3) went on a little run to cut the lead down to as close as 13 points midway through the third as a Jordan Glasgow triple prompted a Naperville North timeout with 4:28 left in the quarter.
Glasgow led the Cadets with a game-high 16 points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers while converting six of his seven free throws.
Given the Huskies’ early-season losses to Benet, Neuqua Valley, Lyons Township and the 29-point effort in their DuPage Valley Conference opener at Lake Park last Friday, a collective performance like the one they put forth Tuesday heading into Friday’s game at Naperville Central comes at the most opportune time.
“We knew this was a huge night. We had to come prepared,” Griffin said. “Coach (Powers) got us ready. We tried to execute as best we can and it was a big win. We needed the win.”
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