Boys basketball: Waubonsie Valley survives scare from Neuqua to stay unbeaten

Waubonsie Valley came into Neuqua Valley’s gym Tuesday night looking for their 18th consecutive victory on the season without a loss.

They got it, but it wasn’t easy by any means.

Neuqua Valley took the Warriors right down to the wire, and the game wasn’t decided until 00:00 showed on the clock.

A free throw by Waubonsie Valley senior Tyreek Coleman with no time remaining saw the Warriors escape with a 49-48 DuPage Valley Conference win.

“I had full faith in him,” said Warriors senior Cade Valek of teammate Coleman, who was outstanding with 24 points. “I knew he’d make it.”

Neuqua Valley freshman Cole Kelly had a terrific contest as well, scoring 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

“Overall, our whole team played well,” said Wildcats coach Todd Sutton.

Waubonsie Valley started strong and went ahead 13-9 early after Coleman hit a long 3.

Neuqua Valley (8-9, 1-4) took its first lead of the game midway through the second quarter when a layup by junior forward Luke Johnson gave the Wildcats a 17-15 advantage.

They kept the lead in a topsy-turvy third period until a late 3-pointer by Waubonsie Valley sophomore Kristopher Mporokoso put the visitors up 39-38 heading to the fourth.

It was all tied up at 48-48 going into the final minute, where each squad had a chance to take the lead but couldn’t capitalize.

Then with the clock winding down, Coleman was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

He needed only one free throw, swishing his first shot to give Waubonsie Valley, the top-rated team in the most recent Daily Herald Top 20, the hard-earned victory.

“The ball was in my hands, my teammates trusted me with it,” said Coleman of his thoughts on the final play. “Just win the game.

“I knew I had three free throws, multiple opportunities to win it. Didn’t put a lot of stress on myself, knocked down the first one.”

Neuqua Valley senior guard Whitman Charboneau came off the bench and gave his team a huge boost, scoring 13 points.

Moses Wilson came up big for the Warriors (18-0, 5-0). He scored 12 points, and it was his steal and layup early in the final stanza that sparked the Waubonsie Valley rally.

Mporokoso pitched in to the win with 8 points.

“This feels great,” said Valek, talking about the Waubonsie Valley 18-0 mark. “We’re trying to break the streak of 23 (straight wins) we had last year, so this was one more to keep the momentum going.”