Naperville Central boys basketball hosts Metea Valley on Dad’s Night for the Redhawks. Central looks to snap a four-game skid, while the Mustangs also look to bounce back after dropping two straight, including a contest against Normal Community, who holds a 15-1 record. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Metea Valley and Naperville Central exchange small runs
Redhawks on possession and searching for our first points on the night. After a missed layup, there’s a scramble for possession, and on the third attempt, Ross DeZur puts one home.
After making a mid-range shot moments before, James Parker dishes one off the Alex Danehl for three. The Mustangs lead 5-2 just a couple minutes in.
The Redhawks are on the break, but the Metea defense stands tall. Central gets the offensive rebound, but Mustang Jake Nosek is waiting inside and stuffs the layup. Metea works the other way and Nosek is trailing and loading for three. He hits one pure to make it an 8-2 game.
Preston Kuta taking the ball up for the Red and White, drives into the lane and drops it off to DeZur. He scores from down low and the Redhawks trail 8-6.
In the final seconds of the first quarter, Alex Liabo puts one up for Central. He misses but secures the rebound and this time, gets the shot to drop at the buzzer. Metea still leads 15-10.
Will Ashford posters a defender
The second quarter was back and forth, and there’s no better play than this one throughout the game. Metea denies anything inside and gets the ball back. Parker two hands a pass up court to Ashford, and the runway is clear for takeoff. He slams one down over the defender to give Metea a seven-point lead.
Now in the third quarter, DeZur throws one cross-court to Jack Gervase. He pulls off a nice move and hits the fading lay-up for two. It’s 23-20, the closest it’s been since the first.
But the Mustangs quickly shut down the Redhawks. Parker gets a hand in on defense and goes the other way for two points. It’s now a 7-0 Metea run and the Redhawks call timeout, now down 30-20.
Out of the timeout, Central tries to go upcourt, but Ashford is there to take it away. He heads into the lane and steps inside for two, adding to the Metea scoring run. Ashford leads the night in points with 21.
The Redhawks now going on a mini-run themselves, and get the steal here. Gervase charges up the court, euro-stepping past the defender for the bucket. It’s now 32-26 Metea.
Mustangs look to close it out
Ashford and Parker have been solid all night for the Mustangs and the two connect on this play. Parker gets the and-one lay-up, and the free throw makes it 38-29 with under three minutes left in the third.
Gervase and the Redhawks continue to keep this game within reach. The senior hits this three for his eighth straight point for Central, and they trail 38-32.
On the other end, after making an and-one layup on the previous possession, Tre Watkins takes the pass and nails a trey ball. The sophomore scores 12 points on the night, and Metea leads by 10.
Mustangs have the final possession of the third quarter, and Parker brings it up. He goes inside and makes the athletic pass off to Danehl who does the rest. His three goes down at time expires and the Mustangs are up by 10.
The fourth quarter was more of the same, and the Mustangs built off their lead to win 64-52. They improve to 9-6 on the season and 2-3 in the DVC, while the Redhawks drop to 6-12 and 0-5 in conference play.
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