WEST LAFAYETTE — North Montgomery’s boys basketball team used a swarming defense to get an early lead and then thwarted a late rally to pick up its 10th win of the season against only three losses as it defeated West Lafayette (7-4) Saturday night.

Charger senior DJ Byrd, playing in front of future Purdue teammates Chris Kramer and Robbie Hummel, had a game-high 27 points. He also led the Chargers in rebounds with eight and assists with four.

The difference Saturday, though, was the Charger defense. They held the Red Devils to 14 first-half points and only allowed 27 after three periods.

“Our defense definitely won the game for us,” Charger head coach Scott Radeker said. “We work on the little fundamentals of defense every day in practice. The kids don’t like it, but once we show them the tape they understand how important it is.”

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