Young Panthers Unable to Overcome Naperville North, Season Ends

NAPERVILLE – Having grown up competing against Benet Academy’s star athletes since he was a child, Naperville North senior Matt LaCosse was not going to miss a chance to dethrone the state’s unbeaten top team Friday.

So LaCosse and his Huskies teammates stormed to a 24-point lead over Oswego in Wednesday’s Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal and hung on for a 67-56 win to set up a regional title date with the 28-0 Redwings Friday at 7:30 p.m. for the regional crown.

“I can’t wait for Friday,” LaCosse said. “It’s going to be a packed house. It’s going to be insane. I won’t be able to sleep on Thursday night. We’re going to have to be on top of our game to beat them. We’re going to play hard. They’re going to know that we’re in the game, that’s all I’m going to say.”

The Huskies (16-11) were the more experienced team coming into Wednesday’s game, with Oswego (15-9) starting nothing but underclassmen, and that showed early. Seniors Nick Buege, Jovonn Griffin and LaCosse combined to get North off to a 15-4 start from the outset.

The Panthers climbed back into the game briefly with LaCosse on the bench with foul trouble, but when he re-entered in the second with his team down 18-17, the Huskies went on a 17-4 run to take control of the game.

The Naperville North dominance continued into the third quarter, when a 12-0 run pushed the lead to 52-28.

“I thought our kids were really high, really prepared and really focused on what we needed to do,” North coach Jeff Powers said. “It wasn’t surprising that we did that, and I wasn’t surprised that they came back.”

Indeed, despite being down by 24 points, Oswego sophomore Miles Simelton showed some moxie for a young player, directing a comeback that brought Oswego to within six points in the fourth quarter. During a 25-7 burst, Simelton scored 20 of his game-high 27, including the Panthers’ first 12 points of the fourth. That cut the lead to 59-53 with 2:25 left.

“Who can accuse our kids of quitting?,” Oswego coach Kevin Schnable asked. “We can win when we lose, and we did that tonight. There’s a whole heck of a lot to be proud of. I thought Miles was awfully good in the second half. Just a confident, gutsy performance, a jump-on-my-back kind of performance.”

But in the end, it was LaCosse, who scored a team-high 24 points, and the Huskies that held on for a shot at Benet, who beat Plainfield East, 65-35, in Wednesday’s other semifinal game.

“I really think this group of kids wants a chance at Benet,” Powers said. “I thought they would get it done today and get their opportunity. Who knows what’s going to happen Friday? It’s March, it’s madness, so who knows? If there’s going to be a Cinderella, why not us?”