Late in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game against York, Lyons junior guard Nate Woods had officially ended his shooting slump.
The 6-foot-5 Woods buried a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, finishing with a single-game program record eight 3s for a game-high 26 points to power Lyons to a 56-49 victory in a pivotal West Suburban Silver Division game in Elmhurst.
With the win, the Lions (17-6, 7-1) avenged a bad home loss to the Dukes (22-4, 8-1) and put themselves in prime position in the conference standings. Also, the Lions have won six games in a row.
Woods is no stranger to the momentum shifts of a long regular season. As the son of former St. Charles East coach Patrick Woods, Nate Woods is rapidly becoming a promising player in Chicagoland. He made seven 3s against Neuqua Valley earlier this season, establishing himself as a next-level player with his height and dead-eye shooting.
“There was a stretch of two weeks where it felt like there was a lid on the rim and nothing was falling for me,” Woods said. “I got back into the gym and shot good in our last game. I just tried to get my confidence back and make shots.”
With his dad in attendance, right behind Lyons’ bench, Nate Woods put on a shooting exhibition. He drilled shots from all around the arc, even showing some flair with a few memorable celebrations. The Dukes controlled the tempo and possessed the lead for nearly the entire first half until Woods put his stamp on the game by drilling 3s.
He opened the second with a 3-pointer, buried another three to chop the deficit to 19-18 and ended the half with a long 3 for a 25-23 lead that his team would not relinquish.
Woods, like his teammates, struggled in the opening quarter shooting from beyond the arc, but he leaned on some sage advice from his father.
“My first few shots weren’t falling, but I knew I had to stay positive because that’s a big part of my game to not get down after a miss,” Woods said. “I knew I had to keep shooting. My dad always tells me about the next play. Whenever he sees me getting down or in the gym together after missing a shot, he gets mad at me and wants me to keep shooting because the next one will fall.”
Woods kept his hot streak alive in the final two quarters, connecting on back-to-back 3s early in the third and putting the game out of reach with a long 3 to pad the lead to 51-38 late in the fourth.
Woods joked he got lost in the moment following a few of his highlight-reel 3s.
“I don’t even know what I do to be honest,” Woods said.
Last season, Woods played on the sophomore team, but he called the experience a key growing period for him – physically and mentally.
“I had to do a lot of work this summer because my sophomore year did not go so great,” Woods said. “I wasn’t playing the way I should. I knew I had to get into the gym. Once you put in the work, it all comes naturally. I also grew one or two inches.”
Lyons coach Tom Sloan credited his team’s passing, toughness and ability to attack the boards for second-chance points and to extend possessions. The Lions played solid post defense to combat York’s superior size and bulk in the front court. Joseph Lubbe led the Dukes with 12 points and senior center Hunter Stepanich, a Princeton recruit, finished with 11 points.
“The kids played tough and planted their feet and stood their ground,” Sloan said. “York is very good. The biggest difference from last game was making shots. Jake had a great night shooting.”
York coach Mike Dunn praised Woods for his shooting and the Lions for stepping up in a key game.
“Obviously, Woods shot the ball really well tonight,” Dunn said. “We didn’t rebound the way we’re capable of but give Lyons credit for playing well. It’s a long season. The West Suburban Silver is challenging. We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight. At the end of the day, they played better than we did.”
https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2026/02/04/nate-woods-hits-program-record-8-3-pointers-to-shoot-lyons-past-york/