Naperville North’s Miles Okyne figured he might be cold in the final minutes Friday night.
But Okyne, who hadn’t taken a shot for 12 minutes during the Huskies’ DuPage Valley Conference game against visiting Neuqua Valley, caught fire. The junior guard/forward scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter on two drives and two free throws.
“Going into this game, I knew it would be tough all around because they’re a great man team,” Okyne said. “I got started early, but so did everyone else. We were all getting shots up.”
Indeed, Okyne scored the first basket of the game for the Huskies, whose five starters each scored in the first quarter for a 19-9 lead.
But Okyne attempted only two more shots, both misses, until midway through the fourth quarter. That actually worked to Naperville North’s advantage.
“I was looking for my shot, but unfortunately it just wasn’t there in the first, so I kind of just looked to move the ball around,” Okyne said. “Then I ended up getting the open looks because I hadn’t been shooting and had been getting open looks for my teammates toward the end, which is kind of what led to that.”
That was a trio of clutch plays that set up junior guard/forward Carson Loughlin’s fadeaway jumper with 2.8 seconds left that gave the Huskies a thrilling 55-53 win.
Naperville North (10-7, 2-3) held on despite a massive performance by Neuqua Valley freshman forward Cole Kelly, who scored 26 of his game-high 31 points in the second half.
The fifth of Kelly’s seven 3-pointers gave the Wildcats (7-8, 1-3) their first lead since the opening minute. But Okyne’s two free throws tied it at 45-45. On the next possession, Okyne scored on a drive to put the Huskies ahead 47-45.
Kelly scored the Wildcats’ next eight points on a dunk and two 3-pointers, the last of which gave them a 53-51 lead with 2:25 left.
Okyne then came through again, slashing to the basket for the game-tying points at the 1:43 mark. His play came as a surprise because Loughlin and junior guard Max Steele, who finished with a game-high 22 points, were doing most of the scoring.
“I knew the defense wasn’t looking to me to score the ball because I hadn’t shot that much the whole game,” Okyne said. “So I kind of thought maybe I’ll get it in, look to kick it out to my teammate.
“I saw I had nothing, so I went up with it because I knew I could hit the shot. But it was really them not expecting it.”
The Huskies, however, know exactly what to expect from Okyne.
“Miles is big,” Loughlin said. “He’s clutch. That’s my boy. I trust him to make all those shots, make those free throws.
“He didn’t shoot much in the second and third quarter, but he was just doing his job, whatever we need from him. He’s very coachable.”
Naperville North coach Gene Nolan likes how Okyne is playing.
“Miles does so many things well,” Nolan said. “He can handle the ball. When he puts it on the floor, he draws help, and he can feed his teammates.
“Defensively, he’s long and plays hard. The different things that go into winning, Miles is always contributing at those things for our team. I’m very proud of him.”
So is Loughlin.
“Miles has confidence in himself,” Loughlin said. “We all have confidence in him as well. We know when we need him to step up, he’s going to do exactly what we need him to do.”
Okyne said he doesn’t keep track of things like game-tying or game-winning baskets but does not recall hitting such important shots so late in a varsity game.
But Loughlin’s winner, which came from about 14 feet, definitely was his first for the Huskies, who forced a turnover on Neuqua Valley’s ensuing possession and ran the clock out.
“I got the ball with a couple seconds left,” Loughlin said. “We ran exactly what we needed to. I sized (the defender) up and got my best shot and what I thought I could make.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Including Okyne, who got a close-up view of Loughlin’s basket.
“I was under the rim looking to get the rebound in case it missed,” Okyne said. “I saw it was going in. I was like, ‘We’re going to go crazy.’ He clinched the game.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
