Northridge wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Uplift’s lofty ranking — the Titans were ranked No. 16 by the Chicago Tribune — as the Knights prepared for the Class 2A Northridge Sectional championship.
A boisterous home crowd fired up the Knights early, but it wasn’t enough to carry them to victory as Uplift prevailed 46-34 on Feb. 6 in Niles.
“I thought we came out of the starting blocks with good poise and really good focus on getting done what we needed to get done,” Northridge coach Will Rey said. “In the second quarter we rushed and got a little antsy with the ball, turned it over and Uplift took advantage of its athleticism.”
The Knights held a 13-8 lead after one quarter but trailed 23-17 at halftime and 35-23 after three quarters. Still, Northridge was able to put a run together, pulling within four points late in the fourth quarter. But with time winding down the Knights had to foul and the Titans made their free throws to secure the win.
“They made a really smart decision to hold the ball to start the fourth and they took so much time off the clock,” said senior Dylan Haig, who is from Morton Grove. “I think if we had four more minutes we could have pulled it out.”
While Haig and his teammates were disappointed to see their season come to an end, the Knights achieved a lot in 2014-15.
Northridge finished with a 23-7 record, winning 17 of its final 20 games and capturing a regional title for the second year in a row. The 23 wins tied a school record set in 2009 and repeated in 2013.
“It was a great season and it shows that hard work and dedication pays off,” Haig said. “It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Another solid year by the Knights shouldn’t be a surprise. Rey has had only one losing season (14-15 in 2009-10) in 11 years while accumulating a 206-108 record. But there’s no doubting that this was a special season.
“We’re a Class 2A school and before the Uplift game we had only lost to one 2A team this season,” Rey said. “We’re proud of our kids and how well they played all season.”
Northridge will have some work to do to reach another sectional final next season. Haig was one of the team’s top scorers at 14 points per game and he is one of four senior starters — along with Charlie Newell, Matt Brown and Tomislav Cuvalo — the Knights will have to replace.
The good news is that Northridge usually used an eight-man rotation and four of those players will come back.
Junior Pat Hunt, who scored 21 points against Uplift, was the starting point guard and averaged 14 points. He will get help from juniors Pablo Esparza and Joe Eck and sophomore Kiko Maso. The varsity also will be buoyed by a sophomore team that went 23-3.
“I have total confidence in the younger guys,” said Hunt, a Libertyville resident. “It’s just up to everyone to put in the work during the summer and it’s my job to make sure we have that team chemistry because that’s a massive part of our program.”
Rey is optimistic about the future, as long as next year’s team puts in as much effort as the 2014-15 squad.
“We have plenty of guys coming back and it will just depend on how hard they work and how committed they are in the offseason,” Rey said. “You can’t just pick up the ball in November and expect to be good in March. Basketball is a year-round sport and that’s what it takes to sustain the kind of success we’ve had.”
Rob Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @chicagolandprep
