Neuqua Valley repeats win over Metea Valley
Neuqua Valley's second go-around with District 204 rival Metea Valley almost mirrored their last boys basketball contest on Dec. 5.
In both games the two teams kept the score close, with Neuqua Valley holding a 4-point halftime lead last time before the Wildcats pulled away with a big second half.
This time around, Neuqua Valley entered the second half with a 6-point lead before outscoring the Mustangs 24-10 in the third quarter. The end result was a 67-51 Upstate Eight Valley win Thursday night.
"The last time we played (Metea Valley), we struggled in the first half and it was the same thing tonight," Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said. "We came out and played really good defense in the third quarter and the offense got a lot better."
Sutton praised the play of his team's defense, particularly its play in the post, holding Metea's 6-foot-6 senior Mark Konkle to just 5 points.
"We just got done playing 6-8 Julian Torres from Bolingbrook and 6-8 Loudon Vollbtrecht from Geneva, so we've had our hands full," Sutton said. "Three out of these last four games we've played these monster big men and have played great defense in the post."
Joe Sieger's 3-pointer with 1:20 left in the first quarter gave the Wildcats a 10-8 lead that they never relinquished. It was part of an 11-0 Neuqua Valley (15-1, 6-1) run that turned an 8-4 deficit into a 15-8 lead.
Bryson Oliver's steal and layup just before halftime cut the Wildcats lead to 24-20, but Connor Raridon's basket in the paint gave Neuqua a 26-20 halftime lead, and the Mustangs (6-10, 3-5) got no closer the rest of the way.
Holding a 41-30 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 15-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter. Zachary Lendino scored 6 points during the run, including two straight fast break layups.
A steal and layup by Demond George extended his team's lead to 56-30 early in the fourth quarter before the starters will pulled.
A pair of free throws by Oliver with 6:41 left ended the Neuqua Valley run.
"Two games in a row I thought our defense was very solid in the first half against two very good teams in Bartlett and Neuqua," Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza said. "It was a grind-it-out first half, but I was pleased with our defense and it gave us a shot in the second half. I thought we started off well in the second half, but they hit a 3 and then a 2 and all of a sudden, a 6-point deficit became 11."