Boys Basketball: Niles North throttles Mather

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Northbrook Friday 01.20.12. Niles North's Tafari Beckford (right) (10) tries to get past Glenbrook North's Jason Markus (left) (1) during their game on Friday, January 20, 2012, in Northbrook. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media

Updated: January 27, 2012 11:56AM

After winning a thrilling game on a buzzer-beating rebound basket the night before, Niles North ensured there would be no drama Saturday night in a non-conference contest against Mather.

The Vikings forced Mather into 20 first-half turnovers and scored the first 17 points of the second quarter, while cruising to a 65-41 victory in Skokie.

On Friday, Niles North defeated Glenbrook North 56-54 on a basket as the buzzer sounded.

It was a different story against the Rangers, when Ali Rafiq scored a basket to close an 11-0 run and give Niles North a 19-5 lead in the closing minutes of the opening period. The Vikings led by double digits the rest of the way.

“All of our games are about holding the other team down, swarming to the ball and locking them down to get our offense going,” Vikings senior Jaylen White said. “It always starts off with defense.”

Senior forward Mychael Henley (three steals) led Niles North with 13 points, while Malachi Nix (four boards) knocked down 6 of 13 free throw attempts and finished with 12 tallies.

Tafari Beckford was the other Viking (14-5) to click for double digits, hitting two shots from long-distance and totaling all 10 of his points in the first half.

Ten different players scored for Niles North, including Sabir Ahamed, who scored the last five points for the Vikings.

“We are always unselfish, if you have an open teammate, you always make that extra pass,” explained White, who had two points and four steals. “It just creates more looks for our team to get us going.”

A basket by Eron Washington to start the final period swelled the lead to 53-23, the largest margin that Niles North would enjoy all night.

Mather (2-13) could not overcome a second quarter that netted just three points, but the Rangers cut the deficit to 22 points in the fourth period on a bucket by Blake Wolfe. Wolfe and Rashaad Mitchell each scored 14 points for Mather.