Neuqua ties for tournament title

It took a while for Neuqua Valley to find its shooting touch at the 35th annual York Turkey Tournament on Saturday night.

But the Wildcats' defense was locked in on Hersey from the opening tip.

Dan Pawelski scored a game-high 18 points and complemented a relentless defense propelling Neuqua Valley to a 63-42 victory in Elmhurst.

Neuqua Valley (3-1) gained a share of the tournament title with Morton, which defeated York 61-59.

"Our offense has slowly been picking it up," said Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton. "But the defense has been there since the start of the season. We've improved each game, but we still have a lot more to do, it was a nice start."

Neuqua Valley only converted 4 of 15 field goals in the first quarter but limited Hersey (2-2) to 3-of-13 shooting in taking a 12-7 advantage.

Neuqua's defense then ignited the offense as Hersey committed 4 of its 15 first-half turnovers during an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats increased their advantage to 26-13 with 3:04 remaining before halftime.

"It was the defense that led to our offense," said Derek Raridon, who scored 5 of his 11 points during the run, including a key 3-pointer. "We just wanted to pressure the ball and fly around and get some steals, then get up the court quick."

Neuqua Valley held a 30-17 halftime advantage when the offense finally clicked into gear thanks to Pawelski, who scored 8 third-quarter points as the Wildcats opened the third quarter with a 15-2 run in taking a commanding 45-19 lead.

"Shots weren't falling early," said Pawelski, who helped limit Hersey's Luke Fabrizius to 6 points in the first three quarters. "I figured if I'm not hitting outside, I better get going inside."

T.J. Jordan, Steve Waeghe and Graham Smith spurred a defense that limited Hersey to 33 percent shooting in the first three quarters with the Wildcats opening a 49-26 lead entering the final quarter.

"We struggled with their defensive pressure," said Hersey coach Steve Messer, whose guards met a wave of Wildcats after crossing mid-court. "They kept working hard and doing things correctly. We had some breakdowns."

Ryan Wagner came off the bench to contribute 9 points for the Wildcats.

Griffin Dwyer and Kyle Mengarelli contributed to the Huskies' attack.

"Even though we got it taken to us tonight, I saw a change in our personality and our toughness," said Messer. "I think it's for the better."

-- Michael Eaken

St. Joseph 58, Wheaton North 54: St. Joseph made it three titles in its four years of coming to St. Charles with a victory over Wheaton North.

The Falcons couldn't overcome a cold shooting night in which they hit 18 of 58 shots from the field and just 5 of 23 of their 3-pointers.

"We competed tonight," Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos said. "We played hard. St. Joe is a great, great team. There are things we'll work on and get better at.

"Some of the shots could have been better looks and some were good looks and didn't drop. It was probably a mixture of both."

Wheaton North (3-1) led briefly in the first quarter but never again after Malcolm Smith's jumper put the Chargers (4-0) up 10-8 with 4:15 remaining.

The Falcons trailed 30-23 at halftime, then pulled within 37-35 in the third quarter on 4 straight points from John Bagge.

St. Joe scored the next 9 points to build its largest lead at 46-35 early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons had another run in them, forcing 8 turnovers in the fourth quarter and drawing as close as 54-51.

Wheaton North had several chances to tie or pull closer but missed its first eight 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons got back into the game with their full-court pressure that produced 23 St. Joe turnovers.

"We had a nice run in the second half and caused some things," Nazos said. "I like the way we fought back. It seemed like every time we made a mistake they were there to capitalize."

Tournament MVP David Dixon led St. Joe with 20 points followed by Diamond Taylor's 19.

Taylor also was on the all-tournament team with Bagge and Kristian Rosenberger from Wheaton North.

"We just had to pick up the intensity," Taylor said. "We came in thinking we were going to win just because of our name."

Taylor said the win was payback for a 1-point loss to Wheaton North this summer.

"They are a great team," Taylor said. "They had an off-shooting day a little so it was lucky for us."

Bagged scored 20 to lead the Falcons. Rosenberger added 11 points, Dave Pilalis 10 points and 5 steals, and Tim Bryant 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench.

"(Bryant) was a nice spark for us," Nazos said. "He's going to do good things for us this year."

-- John Lemon

Walter Payton 58, Waubonsie Valley 48:ŒIt was not the way Waubonsie Valley envisioned closing its Thanksgiving weekend.

The Warriors were looking for a perfect weekend in the championship game of the Hoops for Healing Tournament in Oswego, only to see upstart Walter Payton steal the headlines.

The Chicago prep school broke free from the nip-and-tuck game in the fourth quarter to claim the title.

First-team all-tournament selection Chris Eversley gave the Grizzlies a 42-39 lead with a putback in the final two seconds of the third quarter, and the Warriors were never able to mount a viable charge in the last eight minutes.

Payton (4-0) not only scored the opening 7 points of the quarter but also limited the Warriors (3-1) to a trio of final-quarter field goals.

"They beat us in all aspects of the game," said Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer. "They were definitely the better team tonight. We didn't have any sense of urgency."

Waubonsie Valley guard Chris Daniels led the Warriors with 14 points, but the squad had no answer for Eversley, who tallied a game-high 20 points.

The Warriors came no closer than 6 after the Grizzlies' opening fourth-quarter salvo.

-- Kevin McGavin