Naperville North guards Zeke and Luke Williams play the same position, but they are a study in contrasts.
Their differences were on display during a DuPage Valley Conference game against Metea Valley in Aurora on Friday, although the results of their efforts were similar.
The brothers combined to score 40 points to lead the Huskies to a 57-42 victory. The offensive deluge came at different times and in different ways.
Senior Zeke Williams scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half, all on pull-up jumpers from near the foul line or nifty maneuvers in the lane.
Luke Williams, a sophomore, erupted for 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including four 3-pointers.
“We feel fortunate to come on the road and get a win in the DVC,” Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said. “We had some timely shots between Zeke’s pull-ups and Luke’s 3s, and then we were fortunate to get some stops during that same stretch.”
Zeke Williams’ old-school style of play provided the Huskies (14-14, 4-5) with almost half of their offense in the first half and was much needed.
Metea Valley sophomore guard Nick Schroeder scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the first half, including a trio of 3-pointers. His layup gave the Mustangs (9-20, 1-8) a 20-19 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Mustangs again went ahead when sophomore forward Jackson Corbett sank a baseline jumper for a 31-30 lead at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter.
But Zeke Williams tied it with a free throw, and Luke Williams followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 27-9 run.
“It was just my teammates, mostly, getting me open for shots,” Luke Williams said. “Like Zeke was driving and kicking when they were collapsing on him really hard after the first half. I was shooting it with confidence.”
Nolan noted that Luke Williams saw valuable playing time on the varsity team as a freshman, and he’s turning that experience into production.
“He’s getting more and more confident with that experience,” Nolan said. “He certainly gave us some big shots tonight.”
Both of the brothers did. Zeke Williams made his first six shots and finished 7 of 9 to go with a game-high five rebounds and two assists, while Luke Williams made 8 of 13 shots and 4 of 4 from the line.
“I like operating inside the 3-point line, where he’s more comfortable outside of it,” Zeke Williams said. “I’m kind of doing what I’m best at, beating people on the dribble and then pulling up, or taking it all the way in and posting up. That’s what I like.”
Zeke Williams, who has committed to play football at Northern Illinois, is in his final season of competitive basketball. Luke Williams also plays football but prefers the hardwood.
“Football is fun,” Luke Williams said. “But basketball, you have a long time, four months to improve over the season and then AAU season, to show what you’ve got.”
The Huskies showed they’ve got good shooting ability, and it wasn’t just the brothers. Sophomore guard Bryce Welch scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, while senior forward Andrew Dawson and junior guard/forward Jacob Nolen both sank their only attempts.
It all starts with Luke Williams.
“He’s getting hot, and when he gets hot, I don’t think he misses,” Zeke Williams said. “It’s good for the whole team because if they start keying on him in the playoffs, other people are open, so we’re able to pass it around and everybody can shoot.”
The Huskies are getting wise about when to shoot too.
“At Thanksgiving, we were taking quick shots and losing by 30, so we’ve learned our lesson as the season goes on,” Zeke Williams said. “We’re trying to be more patient, take what we can get.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
