North Stars rally, but can't catch Neuqua
If Neuqua Valley is the measuring stick the rest of the Upstate Eight is judged by, St. Charles North found out Thursday it stacks up pretty well - except for on the glass.
The Wildcats outrebounded the North Stars 51-26, including 19 offensive boards, to stay unbeaten with a 68-64 win in St. Charles.
Neuqua Valley (7-0, 2-0) needed their 19-0 advantage on second-chance points, plus 10-of-11 free-throw shooting in the final 1:46, to hold off the North Stars (3-3, 1-1).
"We're a pretty good rebounding team, not the best defensive team," Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said. "Very tough game, great action tonight, great opponent."
Junior Dwayne Evans led the way with 16 rebounds to go with his game-high 22 points. He scored 12 of the Wildcats' 15 points in the first quarter and had 18 at halftime.
"It kind of all came together," Evans said. "Conference game on the road, just coming out with a victory is good. Undefeated, this is a pretty good start."
"He was going off on us," North Stars senior Jonathan DeMoss said. "Those shots he was taking, you can't stop that. He's a stud."
The Wildcats needed their rebounding advantage to make up for several things the North Stars did well.
St. Charles North hit eight 3-pointers, including 4 in the first quarter to take a 16-15 lead after one.
The North Stars held their biggest lead at 26-22. A 12-0 run put the Wildcats ahead to stay, with Derek Raridon hitting a pair of 3s in the spurt.
Neuqua Valley led 36-30 at halftime and extended to 53-42 after three quarters. The North Stars made the Wildcats sweat in the closing minutes, with Rahjan Muhammad leading Neuqua's clutch free-throw shooting by swishing all 6 of his attempts.
"He (Muhammad) did a great job, he was money," Sutton said. "We wanted to get him fouled."
St. Charles North only had one chance to tie, a DeMoss missed 3 with 2:28 remaining, and every time the North Stars drew close after that, the Wildcats had the answer at the free-throw line.
"Everybody knows how good Neuqua Valley is," North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. "Go 10-for-10 down the stretch, all it takes is 6 for 10, they get a little more tight.
"I'm proud of our guys. This is just one more test toward the final exam at the end of the season. We were really able to attack Neuqua Valley and take them out of their comfort zone which was the game plan. They kept their cool and executed."
Raridon joined Evans in double figures with 12 points. DeMoss led the North Stars with 14 points and 6 steals. Nick Neari added 13 points, Hirsch scored 12 and Mike Lefelstein 9 off the bench.
DeMoss focused on the bright side of pushing the Wildcats to the final seconds.
"In my three years playing varsity basketball, we have never come close to beating Neuqua," DeMoss said. "It was a two-possession game. We could have won. That has never been the case. We are taking a step forward as a program."