Neuqua Valley struggles to defeat Streamwood

A key component to any basketball team's success is knowing how to win when you just don't have your "A" game.

The Neuqua Valley Wildcats didn't bring their best effort to Naperville on Saturday night against Streamwood yet still came away with a 74-63 victory to stay unblemished on the season.

The Wildcats (8-0, 3-0 Upstate Eight Conference) fell behind 15-10 after one quarter and trailed by as much as 10 points early in the second before turning things around on the offensive end. A 20-9 Neuqua Valley run to close the quarter gave the home team a 30-29 lead at the half.

According to Wildcats coach Todd Sutton, Saturday's effort was just one more in a line of disappointing performances to start the season. Though Neuqua Valley's record doesn't show it, the defending Upstate Eight Conference champions have had their share of struggles in the early going.

"We've not played well for a while. We played good against Bolingbrook, but we've played very subpar many games this year," Sutton said. "We have a lot of turnover problems, and we're terrible defensively this year."

Senior forward Derek Raridon earned Sutton's acclaim after Saturday's game by doing the little things it takes to win a basketball game.

"He's a good leader," Sutton said. "He's a good shooter. He made some key rebounds tonight - probably the only one who made some really big plays for us tonight."

Despite failing to play to Sutton's high expectations, the Wildcats were able to keep Streamwood (2-7, 0-3) at bay for the length of the fourth quarter. Any time the Sabres attempted to mount a run, Neuqua Valley responded with a basket on its own end.

For Sabres coach Tim Jones, Neuqua Valley's ability to keep Streamwood out of reach in the fourth quarter is what separates conference champions from everybody else - and remains a trait Jones would like to see his team adopt in the near future.

"We just didn't take care of the basketball at times, and sometimes we're our worst enemies," Jones said. "We had total control of the game. We had them on the ropes a little bit. We played hard - but we just couldn't finish. We've got to learn how to finish those games."

Despite the 2-7 record, Saturday's loss marked the first time Streamwood has dropped a game by a double-digit margin, as the Sabres' constant work ethic keeps them in most games.

"Tremendous effort," Jones said. "The kids have been playing hard, and I'm pleased with the effort."