{"id":49435,"date":"2017-01-25T16:04:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T22:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=49435"},"modified":"2017-01-25T16:04:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T22:04:12","slug":"evanston-outlasts-niles-north-in-emerging-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/evanston-outlasts-niles-north-in-emerging-rivalry\/","title":{"rendered":"Evanston outlasts Niles North in emerging rivalry"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brent Schwartz<\/strong><\/p>\n

During pre-game warmups Friday, Evanston\u2019s Nojel Eastern walked over to the Niles North bench to grab a cup of water from the Vikings\u2019 Gatorade cooler. \u201cAre you guys not playing?\u201d Eastern asked two Niles North players sitting on the bench.<\/p>\n

He then smiled, walked through the Niles North shootaround and returned to the Evanston side.<\/p>\n

Some day, the Evanston-Niles North rivalry may turn bitter, but it\u2019s not there yet.<\/p>\n

Despite the schools being just four miles apart, Niles North and Evanston had played just once in the regular season during\u00a0the previous five years. Because the Central Suburban\u00a0League realigned, the Vikings joined Evanston in the South Division, and are now scheduled to play the Wildkits twice a season. Evanston won Friday\u2019s game 72-59.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The relationship between the two schools does not lack story lines. Last year, Niles North\u2019s season ended in the regional championship against Evanston Township.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Niles North junior guard Dravon Clayborn transferred to Niles North from Evanston over the summer. Clayborn has been a factor for the Vikings, and chipped in 13 points in both games versus his former team.<\/p>\n

Still, the playful interactions between players before and after Friday\u2019s game suggest the rivalry is still forming.<\/p>\n

Friday marked Niles North\u2019s second loss to Evanston this season. After falling to the Wildkits in Evanston on Dec. 2 in a game where they trailed by 17 at the end of the first quarter, the Vikings began their home bout with a renewed sense of confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked 100 percent the way we came out versus the way we came out last time,\u201d said Niles North coach Glenn Olson. \u201cI think we came out tonight believing we could win, and I don\u2019t think we did that last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior forward Damaria Franklin scored 11 of his 16 points in the first quarter, as the Vikings held a surprising 18-11 lead at the end of the period.<\/p>\n

Niles North stuck with Evanston for most of the game, which Evanston led by just two points with seven minutes remaining. Evanston then pulled away.<\/p>\n

If history is\u00a0any indication, Niles North could run into Evanston again if they make a deep postseason run. In addition to last year\u2019s regional title game, Niles North also lost to Evanston in the 2012 sectional finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvanston has always had a great basketball tradition,\u201d Niles North assistant coach Don Olson said. \u201cThey have a lot of good players that come in and out of that program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evanston boasts seven players who are 6-foot-4 or taller, while Niles North has just one player in that category. Eastern, a 6-foot-6 guard and a Top 100 recruit who has signed to play at Purdue, tallied 20 points, including two dunks<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re really good where we\u2019re not,\u201d Don Olson said. \u201cWe\u2019re so young, and they\u2019re not. They\u2019re also really big compared to us. They\u2019re like trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being outmatched in the paint in the last game, the Vikings improved Friday. During one stretch in the second quarter, Niles North came away with six offensive rebounds in two possessions, but could not capitalize.<\/p>\n

The loss brought\u00a0Niles North to 13-8 on the season, while\u00a0Evanston improved to 16-2. To add to Evanston\u2019s impressive record, the Wildkits have not lost a game to an Illinois team this season, and are 6-0 in conference play.<\/p>\n

Evanston has been the dominant team in the rivalry thus far, but Niles North is closing the gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen enough of this team to not be afraid,\u201d Glenn Olson said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll be seeing Evanston a lot more.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Niles North’s junior Damaria Franklin attempts a shot over an Evanston defender during Friday’s game (Brent Schwartz\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brent Schwartz During pre-game warmups Friday, Evanston\u2019s Nojel Eastern walked over to the Niles North bench to grab a cup of water from the Vikings\u2019 Gatorade cooler. \u201cAre you guys not playing?\u201d Eastern asked two Niles North players sitting on the bench. He then smiled, walked through the Niles North shootaround and returned to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":380,"featured_media":49450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3516],"tags":[3629,3628,3585],"class_list":["post-49435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2017","tag-brent-schwartz","tag-evanston-township-basketball","tag-niles-north-basketball"],"yoast_head":"\nEvanston outlasts Niles North in emerging rivalry - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/evanston-outlasts-niles-north-in-emerging-rivalry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evanston outlasts Niles North in emerging rivalry - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brent Schwartz During pre-game warmups Friday, Evanston\u2019s Nojel Eastern walked over to the Niles North bench to grab a cup of water from the Vikings\u2019 Gatorade cooler. \u201cAre you guys not playing?\u201d Eastern asked two Niles North players sitting on the bench. 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