Nathan Munson’s late bucket helps Lockport edge Naperville Central

LOCKPORT – Lockport boys basketball coach Dave Wilson trusts his players.

That trust was on display down the stretch in a matinee on Saturday against Naperville Central.

With the game tied in the final minutes and the Porters struggling to score, they turned to one of their underclassmen to produce a big result.

That’s what happened as sophomore guard Nathan Munson muscled his way into the lane and forced up a tough 5-foot shot that banged on the rim and fell in for what proved to be the winning points.

It came with 1:14 to play and was Lockport’s only basket in the fourth quarter.

Senior forward Collin Miller added a pair of free throws with 17.3 seconds to play and the Porters held onto win 56-52.

“I made the call for Nathan to take the ball,” Wilson said. “It’s a call for him to get downhill and attack. Just to make something happen. But it’s one thing to call it and it’s another for him, as a sophomore, to do it.”

Munson finished with 10 points and added four rebounds. Miller also had 10 points and junior forward Trace Schaaf led Lockport in scoring with 11 points. Senior guard Anthony Kosi contributed eight points and sophomore twin guards Nojus Venckus (7 points) and Nedas Venckus (2 points) also added to the balanced Porter attack.

“It’s really good,” Schaaf said of the underclassmen making the contributions. “It gives us confidence in the future of this program. We work hard every day in practice to get better and today we stepped up to win.”

Yes, they did and there’s a new attitude for the Porters, and just over halfway through the season, they are now 10-7 and have surpassed last year’s win total (9-21).

“We’ve 100 percent been doing better,” Wilson said. “But I have to be reminded to be patient. Naperville Central has a lot of physical strength and we had to fight through it.”

The Redhawks (7-10) had big spurts in the first and fourth quarters and although they lost, they were happy with their effort.

“We’ve got some athletes, some guys from our football and baseball teams, and they brought some energy,” first-year Naperville Central coach Mike Wilson said. “Our kids are getting used to a new team and a new system. After last night (a 52-20 loss at undefeated Waubonsie Valley) I wanted them to bring the energy and they did.”

Schaaf scored the first seven points of the third quarter to give the Porters their biggest lead at 44-29.

Schaaf had a layup with 1:21 to play in the third for a 50-37 advantage. But that was Lockport’s last field goal until Munson scored just over eight minutes later.

Naperville Central scored the final four points of the third quarter and followed up with a 6-0 run to start the fourth to make it a three-point game.

Kosi canned a pair of free throws with 4:09 remaining to boost Lockport back up by five.

Junior point guard TJ Hillman, who had a game-high 18 points, took advantage of Lockport having seven of its 18 turnovers in the fourth quarter and scored five points in nine seconds to tie the game at 52 with 3:31 to play.

But the Redhawks missed two straight shots that could have given them the lead. Following Miller hitting his pair of free throws. Naperville Central missed a trio of 3-points in the final seconds and the Porters prevailed for their third straight win.

Hillman had 10 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, as the Redhawks raced out to a 13-3 lead with 6:11 to play in the first quarter. Lockport had a 9-2 burst and closed within 15-12 midway through the first quarter before Naperville Central came back to go ahead 24-16 after the first.

The Porters opened the second quarter on a 15-1 run to take a 31-25 lead on a layup by junior forward Owen Nemecek with 3:09 left in the first half. The lead grew to 10 before senior guard Alex Liabo (12 points) drove the lane and scored just before the buzzer to close Naperville Central within 37-29 at halftime.

Junior forward Evan Moss managed nine points and senior forward Preston Kuta contributed six points for the Redhawks.

“At the beginning of the game we were getting beat on the rebounds,” Schaaff said. “So we had to focus on that and do the dirty work. I think we can be really good. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves.”

In his second season as Lockport’s coach, Dave Wilson agrees.

“We’ve had a nice balance and a lot of energy right now,” he said. “The coaches and the players all like to be around each other. It’s growth and we’re in a good spot right now.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2025/01/12/nathan-munsons-late-bucket-helps-lockport-edge-naperville-central/