Boys Basketball: Deerfield applies the brakes to Niles North offense
BY DANNY MEHIGAN Contributor February 18, 2012 12:10AM
Niles North's Malachi Nix (2) is defended by Deerfield's Andrew Ferdman in Skokie, Friday, February 17, 2012 I David Banks~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 22, 2012 12:13PM
Niles North and Deerfield prefer to play at radically different styles. The Vikings want to run, while the Warriors want to play at a much slower pace.
In the first matchup, Niles North ran away with an 18-point victory. The second time around, Deerfield almost stole one from the Vikings.
The visiting Warriors controlled the pace for about three and a half quarters, but in crunch time, Niles North sped things up and came back from a late four-point deficit to win 55-51 in the final Central Suburban North game of the year.
“We were getting wide-open looks and just not hitting them,” Vikings coach Glenn Olson said. “It was frustrating, but we had to stay with it. We questioned our confidence a little bit, but we have capable shooters.
Deerfield (9-14, 4-6) didn’t score in the final four minutes of the third quarter, but went on a 6-0 run to begin the fourth to take a 39-35 lead.
After a free throw, Niles North junior Lorenzo Dillard sprawled to make a diving steal and lobbed the ball into the frontcourt where Mychael Henley corralled it and connected on a layup plus the foul to tie the game with 4:29 to go.
One possession later, Dillard crept behind the Deerfield zone and converted a layup off a no-look dime from Malachi Nix for a lead the Vikings would not relinquish.
Nix and Henley found holes in the zone for short jumpers, Nix took a big charge with two minutes to go and the Vikings held on for the victory.
Niles North (18-7, 7-3) finished a miserable 3-of-20 from three-point range and was visibly frustrated most of the night before the defense stepped up just in time.
“We were imploring our guys to drive the ball to the basket, so it was a definite theme of our halftime talk to get the ball to the hoop,” Olson said. “It was good for us to find a way to win when we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Dillard filled the stat sheet in just his third game, scoring 12 points and adding three rebounds and five assists.
“He brings energy, toughness and a great deal of skill,” Olson said. “I don’t think we win without him tonight. He made a bunch of effort plays tonight.”
Henley led North with 14 points and six rebounds and Nix added 10 points to complement Dillard.
Deerfield senior guard Mack Watts led all scorers with 25 points, including seven three-pointers. Michael Alfieri chipped in 13 points and nine boards.
“We stuck to the game plan and controlled the tempo for three-and-a half quarters tonight,” Deerfield coach JJ Pearl said. “Our kids played their butts off. We don’t match up to them well and our guys gave it everything they had.
“We had the four-point lead with a few minutes to go, they turned us over a few times, got the momentum back and we never recovered after that.”
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