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WW South 'tidal wave' engulfs Neuqua Valley

When your opponent's fans start cheering for you, you know it's a good night.

That's what happened Friday for host Wheaton Warrenville South.

When the Tigers' Parker Robinson made a brilliant spin move for a driving layup midway through the first quarter, Neuqua Valley's sophomore team went over to their cameraman to watch the video replay and started whooping it up.

The same thing happened a minute later when Jake Healy sprawled on the floor to make a steal, then, while flat on his back, passed to Robinson for another layup.

It was all part of an amazing opening 10 minutes that saw the Tigers outscore Neuqua 36-5 en route to a 62-25 DuPage Valley Conference victory in Wheaton.

Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton was so impressed he even suggested a headline.

"Total blitzkrieg: 1939 all over," Sutton said. "This thing was over in the first 30 seconds.

"It was men against children. It was a tidal wave that just engulfed us."

Indeed, the Tigers (8-0, 4-0) scored the first 10 points, sank 15 of 18 shots, recording 7 assists in the process while forcing 10 turnovers in the opening quarter.

"That first quarter was the best I've seen us," WW South coach Mike Healy said. "It was a nice win."

Jake Healy and Robinson in particular were spectacular. Healy, a senior point guard, single-handedly outscored the Wildcats (2-7, 1-4), finishing with 24 points. He was 10 for 12 from the floor and added 3 assists.

Fifteen of Healy's points came in the first quarter, while Robinson tallied 10 of his 12 points.

"It all started with practice this week," Robinson said. "Our guys on the bench really worked hard, gave us a good look in practice and we knew coming in we were going to be fine.

"We just have to execute and do what we do. That's what we were able to do."

The Tigers are known for their 3-point shooting and they were solid again, going 7 for 20 from beyond the arc. But their effectiveness in getting to the hoop was eye-opening; they made 20 of 24 2-point attempts.

"We know there's going to be nights that we're not going to shoot very well and when we get to those moments, that's when we have to be more aggressive," said Robinson, who had a game-high 5 assists. "We have to create more of our offense.

"Neuqua is a really good defensive team. They were taking away some of our looks from 3, so we knew we had to create some offense, drive to the hoop, drive and kick and finish at the rim, and we did."

Chase Stebbins added 9 points and Paul Cuddihee had 7 for the Tigers, who only scored 2 points in the second quarter yet still led 36-10.

"We talked in the huddle after the first quarter that we've just got to keep going," Jake Healy said. "At half we talked about how great our first quarter was but then how great our second quarter was.

"Our shots weren't falling but we continued to play great defense and I think that's what really sealed it."

Duben Ogbuefi led Neuqua with 6 points.

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