Oswego East stuffs Neuqua Valley
Mekhi Lowery's smile peeked through his mask at the mention of Oswego East's shot-blocking exploits.
With his lanky 6-foot-5 frame, Lowery can cover ground like few players and impacts the game everywhere defensively. He seems to take special pleasure, though, with rejecting opponents at the rim.
"I'm always trying to stop the big guys in the paint," the Oswego East junior said. "I'm trying not to foul, trying to be the best rim protector I can be for my team."
He was part of a virtual wall Tuesday.
Lowery accounted for six of Oswego East's stunning 12 blocked shots, to go along with his 11 points and 11 rebounds.
That block party helped the Wolves hold Neuqua Valley to just two points in the second quarter, and they went on to a 54-40 win in the Class 4A Oswego Sectional semifinal.
Patrick Robinson added three blocks and Ryan Johnson two for Oswego East, which beat Neuqua Valley for the second time this season.
Wolves' coach Ryan Velasquez didn't need long to think about what makes Lowery such an uncanny shot-blocker for a kid listed as a guard.
"His arms go for days. He's just so long," Velasquez said. "He does so many good things on the defensive end."
Devon Oregon had 14 points and three steals, Darren Oregon 11 points and four steals and Patrick Robinson nine points for Oswego East (33-1), which advances to meet the winner of Wednesday's game between Bolingbrook and Andrew on Friday. Luke Kinkade scored 15 points and Cole Vonnahme added 11 for Neuqua (22-11).
The first half, in particular, wasn't exactly a thing of beauty on either side. The two teams combined for 22 turnovers, and Neuqua led 13-12 after a quarter despite leading scorer Jayden Dean sitting the first quarter.
Oswego East seized control of things defensively, holding Neuqua scoreless the last 6:33 of the second quarter. Lowery's follow shot and two Darren Oregon free throws capped off a 12-0 run to send the Wolves into halftime ahead 26-15.
It was somewhat reminiscent of the teams' first meeting, when Oswego East limited Neuqua to just three second-half field goals of a 53-33 win.
"The doors blew off there. That second quarter was rough," said Neuqua coach Todd Sutton, whose team shot 1-for-12 with seven turnovers in the second quarter. "Give them credit. We couldn't score against them. Twelve blocks, in 36 years of coaching I've never seen that, that's incredible."
Kinkade's three-pointer closed Neuqua to within nine with a minute left in the third quarter, but Lowery's driving layup in the final seconds extended the margin back to 40-28.
When Lowery was not blocking shots, the Oregon twins seemed to be coming up with steals at the point of the attack. Velasquez said the Wolves showed the Wildcats different looks early on - and apparently different color-coded zones - to keep them on their toes.
On the other side Sutton, with his youngest Neuqua team ever, preferred to salute his five seniors rather than speculate on building blocks for the future.
"We just had the hardest-working senior group we've ever seen," Sutton said. "I don't know if a human being can work harder than Cole Vonnahme. I don't know if it's possible, expect maybe it's Nick Kinkade. Jaden, third-leading scorer in conference. Kurt Lomuntad comes in and he's the best darn teammate you could ever have. He loved playing basketball at Neuqua. I loved that."