Boys basketball: Kelly scores 41 in Neuqua Valley’s triumph against rival Metea Valley

Young fans from the home and away sections alike lined up to snap pictures with the star of Friday night’s DuPage Valley Conference clash between Neuqua Valley and host Metea Valley.

Considering what was an epic performance from Neuqua’s Cole Kelly on Friday night in Aurora, the added postgame attention was more than warranted.

The sophomore uncorked for a 41-point masterpiece on the way to securing a key early-season victory 72-62.

With an open floor ahead of him in transition, Kelly soared to the rim for a two-handed jam. A raucous Neuqua student section erupted as Kelly flushed it home.

“It’s amazing,” Kelly said. “Obviously road games are super hard in every game in conference, so just being able to pull one out on the road is for sure a big one.”

From the tip, Kelly’s intent to dominate became apparent.

A four-star recruit with high-major offers from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and more, Kelly opened the scoring for Neuqua (5-1, 2-0) with the team’s first 12 points.

Near the end of the opening quarter, guard Carter Coviello found Kelly open for 3. Amid pressure from the Mustangs defense, Coviello dropped a pass to Kelly, who buried the long shot to secure one of Coviello’s six assists on the night.

“Coming to Metea, you know you’re going to get pressured,” Coviello said. “What’s going through my mind is there’s going to be one guy in front of me, but if I turn the other way there’s going to be one more. So I’m focused on stopping on two feet (and) looking before I throw.”

A dominant offensive second quarter opened a 13-point halftime lead for Neuqua, as Kelly added nine more to his growing total and Danny Mikuta tallied seven first-half points.

Senior guard Tre Watkins, who finished the night with 20 points for Metea (3-3, 0-2), scored half of those in the first half to keep the Mustangs in the fight.

As the second half got underway, a trio of 3-point makes from junior Manny Miller helped Metea trim the lead to 48-40 entering the fourth quarter.

Just as the Mustangs seemed to be making their way back into it, however, Kelly scored. Then he scored again. Then again.

Kelly deployed a combination of size, strength and touch to wear down the home team, adding a pair of 3-pointers and a ferocious jam to ice the contest.

What’s next for Kelly and the Wildcats?

“Just keep doing what we’re doing,” Kelly said.