Neuqua Valley 62, W. Aurora 53
West Aurora will remember Dwayne Evans if the Blackhawks ever see Neuqua Valley again.
In the first minute of Friday's Class 4A Willowbrook regional final, the 6-foot-5 sophomore blocked a shot by Blackhawks senior Tyler Thompson out of bounds.
It was that kind of night.
Evans scored 20 points and had 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, part of a dominating Wildcats' performance in the paint in a 62-53 boys basketball win over No. 3 seed West Aurora.
"You want the first bucket of the game or a huge play like that," Neuqua Valley senior Dan Pawelski said. "Dwayne came out of nowhere and threw it. That was exciting."
No. 6 seed Neuqua Valley (23-7) next plays District 204 rival Waubonsie Valley in Wednesday's East Aurora sectional semifinal.
Evans scored 10 of his points in the first quarter Friday, finished off by a steal and score in the final minute.
"I just had to come out with a lot of energy. That's what wins games," Evans said. "Hopefully, I'm giving the team a spark."
Asked what he knew about Evans before Friday, Blackhawks coach Gordie Kerkman said: "not as much as I know now. We knew he was a slasher and a good rebounder."
Neuqua Valley had 8 offensive rebounds in the first quarter and outrebounded West Aurora 30-21.
Of the Wildcats' points, 46 came in the lane or at the free-throw line. Pawelski scored 11 and Derek Raridon 12.
Neuqua Valley, up 13-11 after a quarter, took control with a 7-0 run in the second and led 31-22 at the half.
The Wildcats repeatedly sliced up the West Aurora interior defense with screens for posts Evans and Pawelski curling in for layups.
"The play was just open," Pawelski said. "They didn't adjust and we kept pounding it in there on them."
"The post man would fake at the 'L' like he was going to get the ball, get a back pick and just curl," Thompson said. "It's frustrating because they kept scoring off of it."
Nolan Brown's 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the game gave Neuqua Valley its biggest lead at 52-38.
West Aurora didn't go down easy.
Junior guard Markus Cocroft scored all 9 of his points in the fourth quarter, and his 3-pointer with 1:56 left pulled the Blackhawks within 56-51.
That was as close as it would get, and T.J. Jordan's breakaway slam in the final seconds finished things off.
Thompson scored 15 points and Marquis Stewart 14 for West Aurora (18-8).
"No matter how far we were down we weren't going to give up, especially at tournament time," Thompson said. "I'm proud of that."
Neuqua Valley, which has advanced to the sectional final the last two seasons, now gets its second crack at Waubonsie Valley.
The Wildcats lost by 2 on a buzzer-beater in January.
"Obviously, we'd like to play Waubonsie. It's our rival," Pawelski said. "It's a team that beat us at the buzzer and a team I want to play."