CALUMET CITY | After a tough loss to Marshall on Sunday and its coach Tim Bankston out with the flu, T.F. North knew it had to come out strong and make a statement.
It did as the Meteors scored the game's first six points and jumped to a 15-2 lead en route to a 64-24 win over Reavis on Tuesday.
The Meteors (5-1, 4-0 South Suburban Blue) had Monday off, but play every night this week at the Plainfield North Holiday Tournament, and face Benet Academy tonight.
"We came out and knew we had to get it done early," senior Nick Wood said. "We wanted to play our game and get it done.
"Reavis is a good team, but we feel we are pretty good and we just had to go out and do what we needed to do."
Wood finished with 10 points. D.J. Deere got North going as he scored seven of his team-high 11 points in the first quarter as North took a 15-4 lead and led 26-6 at halftime.
"We knew it was important for us to get everyone in and the starters got a little rest," Wood said. "It is important for us to get our rest. This is a big week and we feel we learned from our mistakes last year and we can make a name for ourselves."
Senior Greg McClain finished with five steals and also forced several turnovers.
"That is my job out there to interrupt the other team's flow and cause turnovers," McClain said. "This was a game where we knew Reavis (6-3, 1-3 SSC Red) is good enough that if we didn't take charge early, they could give us a game."
Meteors assistant coach DeAndre Lowery said this week will be a test for the team.
"I liked the way we came out and didn't let up," Lowery said. "We have to do that every game and this week is a tough one for us and we have to be ready to play every night."
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