Naperville North senior guards Carson Loughlin and Max Steele made a lot of great plays this season. They made a few more against Yorkville in a playoff opener on Wednesday. There just wasn’t enough of them. “Yorkville played better basketball today,” Loughlin said. “They were more physical. They won the 50-50 balls. If we had a do-over, we would do that differently, and we would come back. But we didn’t do that tonight.” Indeed, the fourth-seeded Huskies fell just short as the 13th-seeded Foxes pulled a 46-40 upset in a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal. Joey Jakstys, a 6-foot-8 forward who is considered one of the top sophomores in Illinois, led all players with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and seven rebounds for Yorkville, which outscored the Huskies 13-5 down the stretch. Loughlin scored on a layup off a feed from Steele that gave Naperville North (23-9) a 35-33 lead with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, but the Foxes (15-12) responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. Steele’s 3-pointer off a pass from senior guard Miles Okyne pulled the Huskies within 40-38 with 1:02 to go, but they could get no closer. Naperville North’s Miles Okyne (4) takes the ball to the basket against Yorkville during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (James C. Svehla / Naperville Sun) “Yorkville is obviously a great team,” Loughlin said. “I hope they go far and make a run.” It was the end of the line for a senior class that led the Huskies to 40 wins over the past two seasons. Okyne scored a team-high 14 points against Yorkville. Loughlin added 12 points, and Steele had six points. That trio and senior forward Will Harvey started together the past two seasons. The senior class also included reserves Antonio Brown, Jake Victor, Jake Ryan, Daniel Ispahany, Darian Azarbad and Ethan Brock. “I love these boys,” Loughlin said. “A lot of us grew up playing basketball and other sports together. It’s been fun growing up with each other, and it was a great team. It didn’t end how we wanted, but it was still fun, and we had a great time.” So did Naperville North coach Gene Nolan. “It’s been a great two years with these guys,” Nolan said. “In terms of basketball, from the moment we met them in the summer going into their junior year, it’s as special, as cohesive and as intentional a group of kids that I’ve ever been around. “This speaks to how great a group of kids they are — I could not wait to get to practice every single day because they are such positive young people. It was a really fun group to coach.” The Huskies finished with the most wins in Nolan’s eight-year tenure. They reached the championship game of the Jacobs Holiday Classic and were runners-up to Neuqua Valley in the DuPage Valley Conference. Naperville North’s Max Steele shoots from 3-point range during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal against Yorkville on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (James C. Svehla / Naperville Sun) “Twenty-three wins, obviously a really successful season,” Loughlin said. “Just coming to practice every day, that’s what started it. “However many people on our roster, everyone brought something that someone else didn’t. It was a complete team. Everyone helped each other out.” That’s what Steele will remember most. “It was just like a brotherhood,” Steele said. “Every day, we all looked forward to coming to practice, spending time together, and we’re all going to miss it like crazy. “I’m going to miss coming to practice every day, joking around with the team, working hard with the team, seeing my coaches every day. So it will be hard not to be able to do that again.” Especially after this season with this roster. What the Huskies lacked in high-profile, college-bound players, they more than made up for in cohesiveness. “Just the team chemistry, on the court and off the court, I think everyone feels it,” Loughlin said. “It feels like a second family, and I’m going to miss them.” Naperville North’s Carson Loughlin, center, soars to the basket between Yorkville’s Braydon Porter, left, and Frankie Pavlik, right, during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (James C. Svehla / Naperville Sun) As will Nolan. While there were plenty of tears after the game, regrets were few. “They don’t need to win a game for me to be proud of them,” Nolan said. “I’m proud of them no matter what, and they were an awesome group to coach. “Most importantly, they’re young men of high character and integrity, and their futures are so bright, and that’s what this is all about. We’re really going to miss this group, and they’ve definitely left a legacy of Naperville North basketball.” Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter. ...read more read less