All-UEC battle set at East Aurora
The coaches hoped for this pairing a month ago.
Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith, Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton and Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer walked out of last month's Upstate Eight Conference coaches meeting hoping to renew acquaintances shortly thereafter.
With all three teams entered in the Class 4A sectional on the home floor of UEC member East Aurora, the three coaches speculated as to the possibility of an all-Upstate Eight affair in the championship game.
"We said wouldn't it be great if we all meet at East Aurora on a common floor we all play at with all three of us in the sectional?" Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith recalled.
All three made that possibility a reality by winning its respective regional. Elgin also won a regional title last week, giving the UEC four Class 4A regional champs.
No. 8 Bartlett (22-7) blew out No. 1 Batavia 86-63 for the Bartlett regional title, then held off No. 12 Glenbard West 67-64 in Tuesday's semifinal at East Aurora.
UEC conference champion Neuqua Valley (24-7) beat runner-up Waubonsie Valley 56-51 in Wednesday's semifinal to set up tonight's rematch between league foes at 7:30 p.m.
Neuqua Valley defeated Bartlett 66-61 in Naperville on Jan. 17.
"We really wanted that rematch because we didn't play that well at all," said sophomore Luke Labedzki, who led the Hawks with 21 points against Glenbard West. "I played horrible."
Labedzki averages 13.8 points per game but was held to 8 points on 2-of-13 shooting against Neuqua. But he wasn't the only Hawk having trouble with the Wildcats.
The game was tied at halftime, but Neuqua Valley broke from the third-quarter gate with a 14-0 run and led by 15 points heading to the final period.
To forge a different result in tonight's rematch, the Hawks must find a way to contain a team with multiple weapons, starting with 6-foot-8 center Dan Pawelski (12.6 ppg.), Neuqua Valley's all-time leading rebounder and third-leading scorer.
He waged an even battle against Bartlett's 6-9 center, Kamil Janton last time. Pawelski finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks to Janton's 11 points, 12 boards and a block.
Neuqua also threatens with 6-5 junior forward Derek Raridon (12.6 ppg.), Dwayne Evans (8.4), and guard Anton Wilkins (7.4). Evans scored 20 points in the Wildcats' regional title victory over West Aurora at Willowbrook.
"We have to keep Evans off the glass because he's a horse," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "(Senior guard T.J.) Jordan and Wilkins are their defensive specialists. They can both score the ball. We can't let them get into that emotional zone where they're playing extremely well and building emotion for their team.
"We have to make sure Pawelski doesn't get easy looks to the basket and we have to run our stuff. That's just five or six big things we have to take care of. No big deal."
Sutton praised Bartlett guard Marc Little for elevating the Hawks to elite status this season once the transfer student became eligible in December.
"The addition of Little has ignited their team to extraordinary heights," Sutton said of Bartlett. "He gives them what they were lacking: playmaking and team speed.
"They already had the size and physical attributes to be real good. With Little and Labedzki, they now have two terrific perimeter players to go along with the giants."
The winner advances to Tuesday's Chicago State supersectional against the winner of tonight's Richards sectional final between No. 1 Richards and No. 3 Lyons.
Daily Herald sports writer David Oberhelman contributed