Nick Lopez didn’t start for Naperville Central in Friday night’s DuPage Valley Conference game at Glenbard East.
But he knew how to finish it.
Lopez hit the tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime, then made a steal and two free throws to help seal a 58-54 victory.
The Redhawks trailed 49-44 with 23 seconds left before Nick Czarnowski scored on a putback. After a Rams missed free throw, Lopez sank his 3 from the top of the key to tie it at 49-49 as time ran out.
“The ball came to me. You always have to be ready when the ball comes,” Lopez said. “My teammates were counting on me to make the shot and I was grateful it went in.”
Czarnowski took charge in overtime, scoring five points for a 56-52 lead. Evan Peterson’s two free throws for Glenbard East made it a two-point game. The Rams inbounded with 10 seconds left after a jump-ball possession, but Lopez stole the ball, was fouled and made both free throws with 4.8 seconds left.
“Whenever we see a ball on the floor we want to get the ball, hold it as tight as we can, get a foul or call a timeout,” Lopez said. “Free throws win games, so I just wanted to knock them down and help our team win.”
Naperville Central (10-7, 4-4) scored the game’s first 13 points, but Glenbard East (11-6, 3-5) climbed within 25-20 at halftime. Led by Dante Bailey’s 10 points in the third quarter, the Rams grabbed a 36-27 advantage to cap a 13-0 run.
Czarnowski led Naperville Central with 15 points. Bailey scored a game-high 22 points.
Player of the game:
Nick Lopez, Naperville Central, 11 points, 2 steals.
Key performers:
Naperville Central — Nick Czarnowski, 15 points, 6 rebounds; Mike Blaszceyk, 14 points. Glenbard East — Dante Bailey, 22 points; Tahron Harvey, 20 points, 6 rebounds.
