Neuqua gets it right
Alex Karkazis does not necessarily look the part of a big inside presence for Neuqua Valley at 6-feet-2 and 180 pounds.
But the senior played the part down low in a big way Wednesday night in the semifinals of the 36th annual Elgin Holiday boys basketball tournament at Chesbrough Field House. Karkazis scored 10 of his career-high 21 points in the first 6:44 to give Neuqua (12-0) a shot at its third title in five years with a 67-51 victory over Wheaton North (6-5).
“This team is great and it’s a lot of fun because the younger guys are great,” Karkazis said. “Every single night we’re looking for someone to step up. The key to this team is it’s a team effort, and so far we’re just doing it right.”
Jim Stocki added 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and Sam Johnson had 10 points for the Wildcats, who finished second last year after winning the crown in 2008.
They’ll play in the 8 p.m. championship game against Elgin (9-2), which beat Rockford Auburn 62-60 in the first semifinal on Dennis Moore’s right-corner 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer.
Not long after that Karkazis went to work inside to surpass his previous best of 19 points against Metea Valley. He shot 9 of 12 from the floor, had 11 rebounds, 3 assists and drew 3 charging fouls.
“He was dominant in the post tonight off a lot of passes from Stocki,” Neuqua coach Todd Sutton said after Karkazis led the way to 54.4 percent shooting from the field and a 30-20 rebound edge. “The high-low worked well and it was clicking tonight. Alex was dominating.”
He dominated even though he had a size disadvantage against Wheaton North’s 6-6 Nick Barry and 6-4 Jeff Schalk, Mike Fitzpatrick and Mike Biegalski. Schalk led the Falcons with 19 points.
“We ran our plays really well, and when the ball was on the perimeter we made shots and that made them respect the outside game,” Karkazis said. “It opened up a lot more for me. I give credit (to my teammates) because it’s usually the opposite.”
It seemed to be Karkazis opening it up for Stocki, Johnson and Ryan McDermott as Neuqua opened a 34-18 lead 50 seconds before halftime.
“We were a step behind in a lot of ways in the perimeter and the post,” said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos, whose team plays Auburn for third at 6:30 p.m. “They can score inside as well as outside and I thought we were kind of a step off the whole first half.”
Committing 9 of its 20 turnovers in the first 8½ minutes also forced the Falcons into a catchup mode. Nazos even subbed out his starting five 2:40 after halftime as he tried to find a spark.
He got it from Schalk and Jordan Wayhart as they combined to hit five 3s in a span of 4:14 to cut a 21-point deficit to 56-48 with 5:46 to play. But Neuqua answered with the next 11 points to set up a meeting with the tourney hosts.
“Against the home crowd it will be a very difficult game, and we’ll be the enemy (tonight),” Sutton said. “Their quickness is phenomenal and it will be a matchup nightmare for us.”