Journal & Topics Media Group

Niles North Holds Off West To Win ‘Skokie Skirmish’


It was rivalry night Friday (Jan. 18) as Niles North and Niles West hooked up for a long evening of boys basketball competition. The winner that night in District 219 was the Wolves. The Niles West varsity girls team won, as did the Niles West sophomore squad.

Niles North in the varsity boys game had to hold off a Wolves rally in a 56-53 win to take home the “Skokie Skirmish” trophy. North’s Central Suburban South win was its second of the season.  The Vikings won 61-48 in early December.

Niles North never trailed leading led by as many as 12 points. The Wolves in the final quarter cut the Vikings lead down to 47-45. West had one chance to tie the score at the final horn when Kevin Guillaume’s 3-point attempt hit the back iron. North jumped out to a quick 19-7 lead after the first quarter.

“Falling behind early had been one problem all season,” said Niles West coach Mike Wasielewski. “It’s tough to figure that out…it seems like we’re nervous at the start of our games and have claw our way back. I think we had something like 7 turnovers in the first quarter to put us in a hole.”

Niles West in the second quarter settled down and began to execute on offense. The Wolves  began to chip away at the Vikings lead. Niles North took a 31-25 lead at the break. The two teams in the second half both played solid defense. The Vikings still maintained a lead when their personal fouls began to mount. The Wolves two guards, Richie Noparstak and Guillaume, began to drive to the hoop.

Niles North’s Omar Policape and Aquan Smart both were in foul trouble entering the fourth quarter leading 47-39. The Vikings leading with 6:42 left 47-43 led when Policape picked up his fifth personal, and the Wolves were now shooting foul shots in the bonus. Smart with three-minutes left to play fouled out, moving the Wolves into the double bonus. Niles West was trailing 52-47 with two Viking starters on the bench. North’s Robert Pryor stepped in for both Policape and Smart to right the ship. Pryor scored 3 key foul shots in the final minutes and ended up with 14 points off the bench.

The Vikings also received a big lift from Elijah Bull who scored 13 points which included 4 in the fourth quarter. Bull scored a big 3-pointer to keep the Vikings in a two-possession lead. The Wolves behind their 10-of-10 foul shooting in the final quarter whittled the Viking lead to 56-53 with 6.2 seconds left when Niles North coach Glenn Olson called time.

“I wanted my team to foul when Niles West inbounded their pass,” Olson said, “but the officials never blew their whistle. We were fortunate to win it. Niles West has a good team with two real fine guards. I guess in a rivalry game anything can happen.”

Smart despite fouling out had 15 points for Niles North (13-6, 3-3), and for Niles West (8-13, 0-7)  Mason Williams scored 12 as did Guillaume.

“Niles North can really pressure their opponents on defense,” Wasielewski said. “The big adjustment at the half was for our guards to penetrate and to draw fouls which we did because two players fouled but the rest of their team picked them up.”

Niles West in two non-conference games defeated two Public League White Division opponents. The Wolves defeated Taft 49-47 in overtime when Emil Comor scored the lone basket on a layup in the extra stanza. Saturday afternoon Niles West defeated Von Steuben, 60-43. The Wolves led the Panthers from the start of the game to the end.

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