Neuqua Valley starts, finishes strong against Downers Grove North
If Neuqua Valley could bottle Monday's first and fourth quarters, boys basketball coach Todd Sutton would be a happy man.
Neuqua shot a combined 15 of 24 in those two quarters, and overall forced Downers Grove North into 22 turnovers in Day 1 action at the 54th East Aurora Boys Holiday Tournament, leading to a 55-43 victory over the Trojans.
"We held them to 23 the second half. That's pretty good, because we know how good of a team they are," Sutton said.
"That's a big feat because I know those guys can play. No. 4 (Nate Demos), I know how good of a shooter he is, and 10 (Jack Mielke); No. 1's (Kevin Bozeman) a beast down low, too. They've got some nice players over there, and I told them 23 in a half, we're very happy with that."
Neuqua earned assists on 16 of its 23 baskets. Early, Mark Gronowski or Connor Davis or Patrick Hoffmann dribbled below Downers North's 1-2-2 zone then found a teammate in the lane. That tact led to a 19-9 first-quarter lead.
"They play a tough zone, obviously, and we were able to move it around, get open shots and finish at the hoop," said Davis, who scored 23 points with 10 rebounds and 3 assists. John Poulakidas scored 14 points with 4 steals, and Hoffmann and Gronowski each absorbed two offensive charges.
"Our defense really helped us get into more of a rhythm in our offense in the second half, allowing us to be able to push the ball and score more," Davis said.
First, Neuqua (7-4) had to deal with the 6-foot-6 Mielke. The junior scored 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 5 of 7 from 3-point range for the Trojans (6-4). He scored all 13 of his team's points in the second quarter to bring the Trojans within 25-22 at halftime.
"We needed somebody to score, be aggressive, and just kind of get stuff done. That kind of came down to me, I felt like. I was feeling it, so I was just going to keep shooting until I started missing," said Mielke, aided later by Kyle Engstler's 10 points, 8 in the fourth quarter.
Mielke never did start missing. But between Neuqua's quick hands and otherwise, the Trojans' 12 second-half turnovers limited opportunities.
Trailing 38-28 after three quarters, Engstler hit two early fourth-quarter baskets to pull Downers North within 38-32. Davis' 14 fourth-quarter points and 5 Trojans turnovers down the stretch allowed the Wildcats to pull away.
"Anytime we can get shots on goal we're pretty darn good," said Trojans coach Jim Thomas. "We value points per possession, that kind of stuff, but it's all based on not throwing the ball around the gym."
Metea Valley (3-8) opened play at East Aurora with a 61-50 loss to Plainfield Central (8-3).
In the second game Joliet Catholic (4-5) scored on a steal and basket by Drew Buss with 4.6 seconds left to beat Wheaton Academy 72-70. The Warriors (7-4) had led 55-38 after three quarters. Marcus Bult's 21 points led Wheaton Academy.