His four-year Naperville North career nearing its conclusion, Jelani McClain wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.
Thirty-two minutes during a final home game opposite the crosstown rival awaiting him, all it took was 39 seconds for McClain to get comfortable.
McClain’s jumper in the middle of the lane to get the Huskies on the board Friday against Naperville Central may have represented just two of his eight points on the night.
But for a team who’s on a roll, it meant so much more.
With its depth on full display, Naperville North provided McClain lots of help during one of his last cracks at the Naperville Central apple in holding on to a 40-36 DuPage Valley Conference victory.
“It’s against Central and it’s just the way that we started,” McClain said of his shot to open up the game’s scoring at 7:21 to play in the opening quarter, shooting coach Jeff Powers a grin along the way. “We’re going to start that way. I looked at my teammates and we said, ‘we were going to come out with a lot of fire and fight.’”
Naperville North (12-3, 5-1) recorded its seventh win in its last eight games by using the balance it has come to know so well.
Winston Elston, the team’s leading scorer coming in at 12.1 PPG, once again led the way for the Huskies with his 11 points while junior Mitch Lewis added 10.
Lewis recorded his first double-digit scoring game in seven outings this year as he continues to get into shape following a pair of injuries.
“To be honest, my foot is all good,” Lewis said. “My hand is the only thing that bothers me right now, but once you get a Dawg Pound and a band like that, all the pain goes away.”
An 11-0 run spanning the end of the first and lasting midway through the second gave the Huskies a 20-10 lead.
Elston saw Lewis and McClain combine on six of the 11 points during the run that gave Naperville North the lead for good.
“We pushed the ball, kept attacking,” Elston said,” because when we push it and attack, we can get buckets and buckets. Just keep going.”
Behind a 13-point first-half, Matthew Meier did his best in keeping the Redhawks (9-6, 4-2) in it but he was held to just five points the rest of the way.
Through 15 games, Meier is averaging 17.7 points for a team that has lost four straight games after a 9-2 start.
Finding a way to get him some help is imperative as Harry Hallstrom was held to just six points while James Kendrick and Nick Kramer, who left with a hip injury, combined for just three.
“We couldn’t get Harry going,” Redhawks’ coach Pete Kramer said. “If Harry has trouble scoring down low and on the perimeter, He has some mismatches, does a nice job. He just never got into any kind of flow, flow of the game offensively.”
Up eight points at halftime following a McClain bucket to end the first half, Cam Hardy’s three-pointer with 5:55 left in the third was just one of only three field goals in the second half.
“I was real proud of the way the kids defensively, the way they played in the second half,” Kramer said. “We just played so poorly offensively. We just kept hanging around. We had our chances. I thought the key to the game was we didn’t take care of the ball.”
With five players averaging at least 7.5 points coming into Friday, guarding Naperville North has quickly become a pick-your-poison proposition.
Consider the fact the Huskies were able to pull out the victory after watching Chris Johnson and Tyler Carlson combine for just one point.
For a team that continues to roll, it was just another night at the office.
“We got all the pieces now with E.J. (Vaughn), Mitch,” Powers said. “(Chris) Sullivan gives us a nice boost off the bench, At practice every day, our nine-through-16 have been working their tails off making our guys better. It’s just a team effort.”
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