Patient Neuqua Valley advances to regional final

Why take a good shot when a great shot might just be another pass or two away?

That was the mindset for Neuqua Valley during Wednesday's Class 4A regional semifinal against Lockport. The fifth-seeded Wildcats shared the ball so well that numerous open layups and 3-point attempts in the corner were easily converted in a 64-41 defeat of No. 12 Lockport at the Lincoln-Way West regional.

With the patient offense executing at a high level and Neuqua's defense at the top of its game, the Wildcats built a 26-11 lead at the half while holding the Porters to just three field goals through two quarters. The lead was extended to 46-21 after three quarters and the 24-8 winners were well on their way to earning a berth in Friday's regional title game against No. 4 Plainfield North.

"The last few weeks in practice we really focused on just finding the next open man, finding the right shot. Passing up good shots for the great shot," said Wildcats junior guard John Poulakidas, who paced his team with 17 points. "Yesterday was the epitome of that. We were all finding each other really well (in practice) and I think that's what you saw tonight. We were able to break down the zone and find the open man whether it was under the basket for open layups or in the corners for threes. We really found our spots tonight."

Fellow junior guard Connor Davis was on both the receiving and giving ends of Neuqua's passing attack against Lockport (14-17). Davis led all scorers with 11 points in the first half and also dished out a half-dozen assists in the game, often setting up Nonso Obguefi for baskets near the rim.

"It was open in the middle, obviously, and I was able to get him the ball," he said of his connections with the 6-foot-5 Obguefi. "It was wide open and it was great. We brought high energy which is what you need to do. Anybody can upset someone or go on runs, but we were able to stay together and win as a team."

As good as the offense was, Wildcats coach Todd Sutton was equally impressed with his team's defensive effort. He said Poulakidas, a prolific scorer, played one of his better all-around games and that the team as a whole was strong on defense.

"Well, we like to say we are a good defensive team. Sometimes we are and sometimes we're not," said Sutton, whose team gets another crack at a Plainfield North team that beat Neuqua in overtime two weeks ago. "Definitely, the first half, they made three baskets. I loved our defense. They've got some shooters out there so we really had to guard them."

Davis finished with 15 points and Obguefi had 12 off the bench to join Poulakidas to give the Wildcats three players in double figures. Matas Deksnys connected on four 3s to lead the Porters with 17 points.

Davis likes his team's chances come Friday.

"We know we'll have to bring the energy like we did tonight, and if we play like we did tonight I think we'll have a good chance," he said.