Metea Valley defeats Schaumburg for Hinsdale South title
Metea Valley’s boys basketball program grew up some on Friday night at the inaugural Hinsdale South Holiday Tournament.
In defeating Schaumburg 64-52 to claim top honors at the 16-team field, the 13-0 Mustangs learned a few critical lessons that should pay dividends the rest of the way.
After having to rally from behind in each of the last two tourney games, Metea Valley put together four solid quarters in knocking off the Saxons (9-4). On top of that, the Mustangs got the best of both worlds when it came to tourney MVP Kenny Obendorf. First Metea rode the sharpshooter’s hot hand to 16 first-half points and a 26-21 lead.
But in the crucial third quarter, the Mustangs showed they can handle a strong opponent even without Obendorf, who finished with a game-high 24 points, handling a heavy burden. In fact Obendorf had just 2 points in the quarter, but the rest of his team was more than ready to pick up the slack.
TreSean Mackey, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, led the way with 9 third-quarter points, while Milan Bojanic and LaShawn Cargo each drained 3s. On top of that, the Mustangs played strong defense that made Kyle Bolger work hard inside for his 17 points and for Christian Spandiary to earn all of his team-leading 18 points for Schaumburg.
“We played solid defense and I’m proud of all of the guys,” Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza said. “It was a total team effort. Kenny kept hitting in the first half and then a bunch of other guys came up big for us in the second half. It’s good to have seniors.”
Forward Ryan Solomon, who tallied just 1 point in the title game but still had a big impact all week long, also was named to the all-tourney team along with Obendorf and the Saxons’ Spandiary and Bolger. On Friday Solomon defended hard, pulled in 7 rebounds and added 3 assists.
“Tonight it was nice to have a good four quarters,” Solomon said. “We consider the holiday break the midway point of the season, and it’s nice to finish up the first half 13-0.”
The Saxons, who like the Mustangs were looking to claim their first Christmas tourney title, led 11-9 late in the first quarter before Obendorf nailed a 3-pointer and the Metea Valley star then added 8 points in the second quarter as the Mustangs took the lead for good.
“They are a great team,” Saxons coach Matt Walsh said of the champs. “Right now we are good team. Tonight a great overall team beat us.”