Boys basketball: Brockington sparks Neuqua Valley in DVC-clinching win over Naperville North
Neuqua Valley got a big-time performance from an unlikely source Wednesday night at Naperville North.
It led them to a DuPage Valley Conference championship.
With the Huskies shutting down the Wildcats shooters from 3-point range all game, senior guard Darius Brockington came off the bench to hit 3 consecutive 3s in the second period and stake his team to a 7-point lead.
That gave the visitors a spark, and Neuqua Valley was able to pull away in the fourth period for a 40-32 win. They finished 10-0 in conference and are now 29-1 overall on the season.
Brockington’s performance was all the more impressive considering the rest of his teammates went 3-of-20 from behind the arc.
“Coach (Todd Sutton) told me I had to come in confident shooting the ball,” said Brockington. “All week we were told they (Naperville North) were going to be in a triangle and two, and that other people were going to have to hit shots. That’s what I did in the second quarter.”
The Huskies inspired defensive effort limited Neuqua Valley stars Cole Kelly (a sophomore) and Mason Martin (a junior and Illinois recruit) to 5 and 3 points, respectively.
But Kelly and Martin found other ways to contribute to the victory. They pitched in on the boards with 7 rebounds apiece.
“This win feels really good,” said Martin. “Winning conference was one of our main goals and we got it done.
“They (Naperville North) took us away offensively, so we had to find other ways to affect the game. Defense, we held them to 32, rebounding, and getting open shots for our teammates.”
The Huskies, who made a concerted effort to slow the game down, were led in scoring by seniors Carson Loughlin and Miles Okyne. Each had 9 points.
All of Okyne’s tallies came from the free throw line. He finished 9-of-10 from the stripe.
“We did everything we had to do,” said Okyne. “We shut down their best players, but they had a couple of other guys we had no idea could do what they did tonight. That really hurt us and decided the game.
“We won our battle in rebounding, deflections, loose balls, we won it all. We just couldn’t pull through at the end.”
Neuqua Valley took a 19-14 lead into halftime, but five consecutive points by senior Max Steele of Naperville North to begin the third stanza tied the contest at 19-all.
The teams battled back and forth into the final period, then the Wildcats went on a run and a putback from Kelly extended the advantage to 30-23.
Naperville North was able to cut into the lead, but a steal and layup from Neuqua Valley junior Carter Coviello, then a 3-pointer from Martin (only his second 3-point attempt) saw the Wildcats put the game out of reach.
Brockington and junior Luke Balgro led the Wildcats in scoring with 9 apiece, while junior Arshil Khimani pitched in with 5 points.
Steele added 7 points for Naperville North (23-8, 8-2).
"I'm proud of our kids," said Huskies coach Gene Nolan, "but first of all congratulations to Neuqua. They won the conference and had a great year, so credit to them. They're always tough, and tonight was no different.
"We were down by just 3 entering the fourth quarter (at 26-23), and the pace of the game was what we needed in order to win. They (Neuqua Valley) just made some great plays down the stretch."