Neuqua runs past Hersey

Neuqua Valley lost a lot of firepower from last year's Elite Eight squad, but the Wildcats showed for the second consecutive night they have plenty of bang left.

Neuqua Valley defeated Clark by 47 points Monday and the Wildcats kept it up on Tuesday night at the 36th annual York Thanksgiving tournament by defeating Hersey 81-60 in Elmhurst.

Senior forward Derek Raridon led the attack by scoring 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for the Wildcats. Rahjan Muhammad came off the bench to contribute 17 points and Dwayne Evans added 14 points.

"Everybody out there can score," said Raridon of the Wildcats' attack. "We can go down low and keep them honest and at the same time we can hit them from the outside."

Neuqua Valley (2-0) used a 13-0 run in taking a 14-2 advantage with 3:00 remaining in the opening quarter with Raridon scoring 5 points.

Evans kept the pressure on for the Wildcats by scoring 6 points in the opening quarter, all from underneath the basket. Christian Shonkwiler added 6 points in the opening quarter as Neuqua Valley jumped out to a 27-12 advantage.

"We had a nice start," said Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton. "We're a little young and raw, but they are working hard."

Hersey (1-1) kept the pressure on Neuqua Valley in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to single digits on three separate occasions.

Kyle Mengarelli (12 points) and Kyle Miklasz (18 points) scored consecutive baskets off back-to-back steals to narrow the Huskies' deficit to 41-32 with 1:28 left in the half.

"It's real good experience to play a team that plays like this," said Hersey coach Steve Messer of the up-tempo Wildcats' attack. "They play very fast and very strong, if we don't decide to quit we're going to get a lot better."

Neuqua Valley answered each time Hersey narrowed the deficit and the Wildcats used a 6-0 run in taking a 47-33 halftime advantage.

Hersey opened the second half with two quick baskets to narrow the deficit to 10 points, but Neuqua answered with a 9-0 run to increase its lead to 19 points with 5:32 remaining in the third and never looked back.

"Each time we'll give them credit for making nice comebacks," added Sutton, "But we'll give ourselves credit for bouncing right back."