Neuqua Valley 63, Willowbrook 53

Neuqua Valley knew Willowbrook would enjoy a homecourt advantage in Wednesday's regional semifinal boys basketball game.

It didn't last long.

The sixth-seeded Wildcats never trailed in a 63-53 victory over the host Warriors in Villa Park, advancing to Friday's Class 4A Willowbrook regional final to play No. 3 West Aurora.

"We were in the lockerroom charged -- we were ready to play," said Wildcats center Regi Miskel. "That was a home game for them, and they had momentum coming into the game in warmups. You've got to try and neutralize that with your play, and bring your own energy."

The Wildcats (22-7) certainly did that, breaking out to a double-digit first-quarter lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Derek Raridon and a third by Anton Wilkins. The lead grew to 13 points in the second quarter before No. 9 Willowbrook (16-10) made a run.

Closing the half on a 7-0 run capped by a Kyler Market 3-pointer in the waning seconds, the Warriors pulled within 31-27 at the break.

"At the end of the half we kind of let down defensively," said Raridon, who led the team with four 3s and 14 points. "At the start of the second half we brought the intensity back up again."

Raridon fueled a third-quarter charge, tallying 8 points including a pair of 3-pointers. A 15-1 burst put the Wildcats comfortably ahead 46-28 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Outscoring Willowbrook 17-5 in the frame, Neuqua Valley's defense forced the Warriors into 0-of-12 shooting from the field.

"Third quarter, we're right back at it playing 'D,'" said Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton. "We had a real good third quarter."

Willowbrook kept trying to mount a comeback, but never came closer than when a Milton Colbert bucket narrowed the gap to 53-44 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-5 senior forward closed a stellar career at Willowbrook with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kyler Market and Joe Flood each added 11 points for the Warriors.

Dan Pawelski scored 10 points in a balanced effort from the Wildcats, who went 10 deep beginning in the first quarter. Wilkins scored 9 points, Nolan Brown had 8 and Duane Evans rounded out the scoring from the starters with 7 points.

"I thought we had a great year," said Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato. "I think our program grew leaps and bounds. We've got to get to the level of a program like Neuqua Valley. We're still building toward that."