Boys basketball: Balgro, Mikuta, Coviello step up, lead Neuqua Valley past Waubonsie Valley

Talk to any Illinois boys basketball expert, and they’ll say Cole Kelly and Mason Martin are the two players who make Neuqua Valley a state championship contender.

If they really know their stuff though, they’ll say anyone on the roster can step up if Kelly and Martin can’t.

Such was the case in a DuPage Valley Conference matchup that the Wildcats won, 56-51, over Waubonsie Valley on Friday in Aurora.

With Kelly and Martin held to a combined nine points and three field goals, Neuqua Valley (8-1, 3-0) turned elsewhere for scoring help and got it.

Lucas Balgro scored a team-high 19 points, and Danny Mikuta came close to a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds, four of them on the offensive end. Off the bench, Arshil Khimani contributed eight points in the first half.

“A lot of guys stepped up,” said Neuqua Valley assistant coach Tyler Sutton. “Cole and Mason were taken out on the triangle and two. I thought Lucas and Arshil made some big plays. Danny Mikuta made some huge shots. So it's just nice to see other scorers participate in the game.”

All of this perhaps would not have been possible without Carter Coviello, who dished out 12 assists.

“Carter knows where to find his guys,” said Balgro, who regularly found Coviello passes while driving to the basket. “Great passer. Me and Carter have great chemistry, so he knows where to find me.”

The Wildcats had a more balanced scoring attack in the first quarter with six different players making shots compared to two for the Warriors (5-3, 2-1), giving them a 21-12 lead.

The opening quarter proved to be the difference as the scoring was relatively even the rest of the way. Although Waubonsie Valley cut the deficit to three twice early in the fourth quarter, they never were able to tie the game.

“The thing is, you gotta say to yourself, ‘Do you want the dudes averaging 50 points a game to beat you or see if someone else can?’” said Warriors coach Andrew Schweltzer. “I mean, tonight, someone else beat us, and (Kelly and Martin), to their credit — they didn't give up. They got their teammates involved.”

Waubonsie’s Aidan Lee hit six 3-pointers — two apiece in each of the final three quarters — to lead all scorers with 21 points.

Kris Mporokoso had a well-rounded line for Waubonsie Valley of 13 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals. Tate Bartzen scored nine points on three 3s, and Kyler Payne had eight points and six boards.

In a sign of how well both teams played in their coaches’ eyes, no timeouts were called until 4:20 remained in the fourth quarter. They were used more frequently as the game got closer to the end and still hadn’t been decided.