Fiore sparks Neuqua Valley past Metea Valley with big third quarter
Neuqua Valley senior Nathan Fiore was hitting the boards and playing great defense in the first half Friday at Metea Valley, but he hadn’t yet put points on the board.
That all changed at the beginning of the third quarter.
Fiore opened the second half with two consecutive 3-pointers, and that gave the Wildcats a big spark on the road.
Neuqua Valley led at halftime, extended its advantage in the third, then held off a late charge by the Mustangs down the stretch to score a 66-58 DuPage Valley Conference victory.
Senior guard Luke Kinkade led the Wildcats with 21 points.
“I just try to play my role on the team,” said Fiore, who is just in his third game back from an ACL injury.
“We’ve got a lot of great scorers on this team,” the senior added. “ I was just open and I know I can make that shot so I took it.”
The Neuqua Valley win offset a great performance from Metea Valley senior Will Ashford.
Ashford scored a game-high 24 points and led the Mustangs’ fourth-quarter rally, which saw them close the gap to 3 points late.
Metea Valley (4-4, 1-2) was shooting the lights out in the first quarter when they opened an 8-point lead.
“Metea came out strong,” said Neuqua Valley senior Colin Gerrity. “They were hitting all their shots, all their 3s. We had to lock in.
“We talked about defense, and it was defense that enabled us to step up in the second quarter.”
The Wildcats scored 23 points in the second period, and when Kinkade hit two free throws with 26 seconds remaining, the visitors took a 37-27 advantage into halftime.
Neuqua Valley kept the double-digit lead into the final quarter, but Ashford scored 10 points in the fourth to close the gap.
And when teammate James Parker (12 points, 8 rebounds) hit a floater in the lane with 2:39 remaining, Neuqua Valley led just 57-54.
“They went on a run,” Gerrity said, “but you just have to keep your head down, not get too in to the game, and not get nervous.
“You’ve got to focus and not let the distractions get to you.”
The Wildcats hit six clutch free throws down the stretch to extend the lead, and Gerrity’s steal in the frontcourt with just 30 seconds left clinched the win.
Jake Nosek scored 13 points for Metea Valley, while John Bieber added 10 for Neuqua Valley.
“We knew in order to control our spot in the division, the DVC, we had to win this game,” Fiore said. “We had to come together as a team and work hard.”
The Wildcats improved to 8-3 on the year, 3-0 in the DVC.
“It was all about teamwork tonight,” Gerrity added.
“My teammates are the best. When I’m struggling, they just tell me to keep my head up and go out and play defense.”