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East Aurora win over Neuqua Valley a classic

It’s pretty apparent that Neuqua Valley and East Aurora can’t play anything but an instant classic.

Fifty-two weeks after needing overtime to decide a regional championship, the same scenario played out again on Friday night with the Tomcats once more ending the Wildcats’ season, this time by a 62-59 count to win the Class 4A Bolingbrook regional championship.

As has been the case for his entire sparkling career, East Aurora’s Ryan Boatright was the focal point, but with a twist — for the first time in 20 years, Neuqua coach Todd Sutton resorted to a triangle-and-two defense with a quintet of Wildcats charged with shadowing Boatright’s every move throughout the game. The plan appeared to be working as Boatright was just 8 of 21 form the field heading into the final minute of regulation, but he stepped up to can a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final minute of regulation to erase a 46-42 Wildcats lead and send the game to overtime tied at 48.

“We played the triangle-and-two on him all night and he still pops 32 on us,” said Sutton, shaking his head. “That’s the first time in 20 years I’ve done that, but it just shows you how good he is; I wouldn’t do it on anyone else.”

The added attention on Boatright left some openings for other players, and East Aurora’s Tom Okapal stepped farthest to the fore, grabbing 15 rebounds in the first half alone and hitting 3 free throws in overtime to not only help sew up the victory but finish the game with a personal-best 11 points.

“Tom was not ready for his career to end at East Aurora in basketball,” said East Auroracoach Wendell Jeffries. “He was a monster on the boards, hit three free throws late; he just wanted it tonight.”

“Coach has been on me to put extra time in and work,” Okapal added. “I didn’t do much the first two times we played them, and tonight it was just who wanted it more and I busted my butt. The whole game, all year, I’ve been busting my butt on the boards, going hard, staying after practice, and I just wanted it.”

The Wildcats (22-8) also left it all on the court, namely senior forward Sam Johnson, who seemed to hit a big 3-pointer — he had 6 in the game — every time the Wildcats needed one, including a pair in the overtime period. Alex Karkazis also did his best Okapal impersonation for the Wildcats with 13 points and 13 rebounds, with Jim Stocki adding 14 points and 11 boards.

Not surprisingly, the game was nip-and-tuck throughout with 15 ties and 10 lead changes and a largest lead for either team of 5 points, which didn’t come until Okapal scored to give East Aurora (23-5) a 60-55 edge with 52 seconds left in overtime.

Johnson gave Neuqua the lead with a 3-pointer to open the extra period, but Domonique Johnson’s 3 and Boatright’s steal and layup put East Aurora ahead briefly before Karkazis’ free throw tied the score at 52. East Aurora’s Johnson then took a feed from Boatright and hit what might have been the biggest shot of the night, a 3-pointer that gave the Tomcats the lead for good with two minutes to play.

Images: Neuqua Valley vs. East Aurora boys basketball