Boys basketball: Miller’s shooting, team defense keys Metea’s win at Neuqua Valley
Khalil Jones and his Metea Valley teammates came up big down the stretch Friday night at Neuqua Valley.
The Mustangs grabbed the lead early in the final period and held off several challenges by the Wildcats to score a 57-49 DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball victory.
Jones scored 7 of his 11 points in the final minutes to help secure the win.
“It was getting close in the fourth quarter, and that’s takeover time,” said Jones, a senior guard.
“When the team needs me, it’s time to go. This was a great win.”
Several Metea Valley (6-2, 1-1) players said it was last week’s 73-45 DVC home loss to Waubonsie Valley that provided the catalyst for Friday’s triumph.
“We took a loss against Waubonsie but we bounced back (tonight),” said Mustangs senior forward Connor Lavery. “In practice we worked a lot on our defense, and that showed.
“We were able to limit Cole Kelly (the Wildcats’ 6-foot-6 freshman star) and his ability to score, and Tyler Miller had a great game for us.”
Kelly was held to 6 points, all in the first half, while Miller had a game-high 23 points including seven 3-pointers.
Metea Valley senior Dominic Smith was one of the key defensive stoppers against the Wildcats.
“In practice (this week) we talked about defense and how important it was,” said Smith. “We went out and communicated with our teammates tonight, we got stops, and we hit open shots.
“It means a lot to come here and beat a rival.”
Miller had four of his 3s in the first half to stake Metea Valley to a lead at intermission, but Neuqua Valley (3-3, 1-1) rallied in the third quarter on 7 straight points from sophomore guard Carter Coviello.
Senior guard Whitman Charboneau scored 20 points for Neuqua Valley, and his bucket to start the fourth quarter put the Wildcats ahead 37-36.
But on the next Mustangs possession, Miller swished a long 3 to send Metea Valley up for good.
The Mustangs extended the lead, but the hosts were able to close to within 46-45 with 2:15 remaining.
Then Jones came right back with a strong drive to the hoop and a 3-point play to make it 49-45 with less than two minutes to play.
Late free throws by Metea Valley junior Tre Watkins (4-of-4 from the line in crunch time) sealed the win for the visitors.
Watkins scored 12 points and led Metea Valley on the boards with a game-high 10 rebounds. Teammate Lavery pitched in with 7 points.
David Taiwo, Coviello, and Luke Johnson each scored 7 points for Neuqua Valley.
“From last week to this week,” said Smith, “we were really focused on competing.”