Metea Valley stuns rival Neuqua Valley
Ryan Solomon didn't call it Metea Valley's biggest win.
But none top beating Neuqua Valley.
The Mustangs added their District 204 rivals to their recent hit list Friday, using an 18-1 fourth-quarter run to beat host Neuqua 72-63.
Metea (15-12, 5-7 Upstate Eight Valley) just beat Waubonsie Valley the Friday before, East Aurora in January. This one was extra sweet to Solomon.
“This has been our big rival. Waubonsie's our rival too, but they're more our friends,” said Metea's junior guard, who scored 9 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and also grabbed 10 rebounds. “We really wanted to beat Neuqua. We had a good showing the first time against them (a 70-64 loss in December), but this one's great.”
Neuqua (21-7, 8-4) never trailed in the first half, its lead peaking at 27-17 late in the second quarter. Metea wouldn't go away, using a 12-2 run into the third quarter to tie it.
Raysean Parker scored off a loose ball to give the Mustangs their first lead at 34-32, and they led 44-43 going into the fourth.
Neuqua surged back ahead 49-46 courtesy of a Sam Johnson jumper and a pair of Johnson free throws, but Metea had the answer with its back-breaking 18-1 run.
A Parker score gave Metea the lead for good at 52-50, and a Solomon baseline jumper pushed it to 64-50.
If there was a loose ball to be had late, the Mustangs were on it.
“We talk about it all the time,” Metea coach Bob Vozza, “getting those loose balls, getting those 50/50s, coming up with those scrambles. I think everyone was going for it and we got some easy baskets out of it.”
A late Neuqua flurry got the Wildcats within 67-63 — too little, too late. Metea beat up Neuqua on the boards 38-22, and the Wildcats knew it.
“We dug ourselves a hole, and we can't do that,” Johnson said. “It was rough for a stretch in that quarter, we couldn't get a rebound. We need to work on that. We weren't even putting a body on them.”
Parker scored 20 points and Obendorf 17 — 12 in the fourth quarter. Both hit 8 free throws, Metea as a team hitting its first 14, 22 of its first 23 and 30 of 37 for the game.
“I practice free throws all the time,” said Parker, who missed just once. “No surprise we made them.”
Johnson scored 20 for Neuqua, hitting five of his team's 10 3-pointers. Alex Karkazis added 13 and Jim Stocki 11. An early Neuqua barrage from distance carved out a quick 9-0 lead, and a 7-0 second-quarter Neuqua run made it 27-17.
Metea didn't fold either time.
“When you got them on the ropes like that, you need to capitalize,” Johnson said. “They took a timeout and we couldn't keep the run going.”
Provided Metea gets by host Bolingbrook on Monday, Neuqua and Metea could get a rubber match in next Wednesday's regional semifinal.
“Huge week for us,” said Vozza, who notched his first win against his mentor, Neuqua's Todd Sutton, after winning at Waubonsie. “I'm proud of how far they've come. We're not there yet, we want to take some more steps, but I'm certainly proud of the guys.”