Talented Neuqua Valley blows away Elgin
Elgin had the misfortune Saturday of facing Upstate Eight Conference co-leader Neuqua Valley after the Wildcats spent the week honing their already impressive act with five intense practices.
Neuqua Valley enjoyed considerable height and weight advantages at nearly every position and looked polished and efficient in distancing themselves from the last-place Maroons during a 91-42 victory in Naperville.
Saint Louis University-bound senior Dwayne Evans scored 22 points and hauled down 15 rebounds, senior guard Rahjan Muhammad notched 17 points to go with 4 assists and 3 steals and senior Kareem Amedu totaled 16 points and 5 rebounds for Neuqua Valley (21-1, 6-0), which won its 11th straight.
"It was hard work in practice the whole week, getting after each other," Muhammad said "The last couple of weeks have been really, really competitive practices. It's nothing personal; It's just what we do. You have to practice like that in order to win."
Elgin (5-17, 0-8), which started one senior, was taught lessons in every phase of the game by the more experienced, more physically imposing Wildcats. Neuqua outrebounded the Maroons 50-19 while shooting 66 percent from the field (36 of 57). That lofty shooting percentage was aided by 6 dunks, including 5 in the first half. Neuqua Valley led 18-4 after a quarter and 41-14 at the half.
"We ran the court better than we have the last three weeks, which turns into a lot of easy baskets for everyone," said the 6-foot-5 Evans, who dunked on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, including a two-handed slam on an alley oop from sophomore Tyler Sutton. "Our size was the deciding factor in the game. We knew we had a substantial size advantage and depth advantage, so we took advantage of it."
Elgin's 10-man roster, which includes a freshman, three sophomores and two juniors, got a glimpse of what it takes to lead the UEC.
"They are where we want to be in a year or two," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said of the Wildcats. "I wish we would have competed a little more, especially in the first half. There was a big difference in physical play. They kind of pushed us around. It means our kids have to not just get in the gym, but get in the weight room.
"We scored 28 points in the second half, and 27 were scored by freshmen and sophomores. That's what we took out of this. Our younger kids competed real well in the second half and did a nice job."
Sophomore Kory Brown led Elgin with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman guard Arie Williams sank three 3-pointers to finish with 9 points.
Neuqua Valley now turns its attention to rival East Aurora (13-7, 6-0), which pays a visit Friday. The Tomcats remained tied for the UEC lead with a 59-44 win at Larkin Saturday.
"Elgin plays a different style than East Aurora, so we couldn't look past them," Evans said. "I wanted to make sure we were clicking on all cylinders to be ready for Friday."