Conway and friends too much for Neuqua Valley

It doesn't hurt to be 6-foot-10, but it also doesn't hurt to have veteran teammates who know where and when to get you the basketball.

Four-year varsity players Chris Conway, the nearly 7-footer, and Naperville Central teammate Cam Dougherty have played a lot of basketball together. The chemistry was very evident in Friday night's 53-47 DuPage Valley Conference victory at Neuqua Valley.

Conway had a game-high 19 points, including a pair of slam dunks, while Dougherty tallied 17 points that included a quick dart to the rim after a great feed from Matthew Murphy that led to another dunk for the 7-1 Redhawks.

While the teamwork was showcased on offense, it was Naperville Central's defensive effort on the Wildcats' John Poulakidas that played as big - if not even bigger - role in the key road win. Poulakidas was guarded closely by Kyle Baskin much of the night and was held to just two free throws through three quarters before making things interesting with a trio of fourth-quarter field goals. That included a 3-pointer that closed the gap to 48-45 with 2:29 left to play.

"We all look for each other," Dougherty said of his team's offensive philosophy. "We're friends off the floor and we're unselfish off the floor. It translates onto the floor, and Chris and I have chemistry. We've played together for four years and 'Murph' played with us last year so we kind of know where each other is.

"We know if we can get it to Chris on the rim it's going to be a dunk. That's a big momentum swing so we look for that. Murph is also a real good finisher under the net. And we're all really smart and we know when to give it up."

Naperville Central started quickly and took a 9-1 lead before the Wildcats (6-4) closed to 13-11 after one quarter. Conway, who had a pair of 3s to go along with his strong inside game, scored 10 points as the visitors took a 27-16 lead into halftime. The lead stood at 10 points after three quarters as Eric Roche helped the Wildcats stay in the contest with a pair of 3-pointers.

As Poulakidas finally got going late and as point guard Aidan Kramer and Dougherty each got in foul trouble, the Wildcats made a run at the Redhawks before eventually coming up short. Poulakidas and Connor Davis each finished with 10 points to pace Neuqua Valley.

"It was an all-around really good game. This team is so unselfish. It's just really nice to see," said Conway, who also used his long frame to block four shots. "We really take pride in our interior passing. That's one of our strong suits. That (finish) was a testimony to our team's toughness. We kind of had to weather a storm and we figured it out."

For Dougherty, the victory was extra sweet after what happened last year against the Wildcats.

"It's a huge road win. Last year they ran us out of the gym," he said. "They beat us by 25 or 30 and that taste stays. The memory of last year stays in your head. We'll enjoy this one a little bit and then get back to work in the gym."