Cardiac Wildcats

Neuqua Valley erases 10-point 2nd-half deficit

By Tim Tierney | Special to the Tribune

March 14, 2009

With a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd screaming through most of the game, Neuqua Valley overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit Friday to claim the Class 4A Oswego East sectional title with a pulsating 62-55 victory over Naperville Central.

Junior forward Dwayne Evans led the comeback, scoring 22 of his 30 points in the second half and grabbing several crucial rebounds in the fourth quarter to help him finish with 14 boards.

"Coach (Todd Sutton) told me he needed me to step up offensively," said Evans. "It's the playoffs. We knew we were going to face adversity."

That came in the form of Naperville Central forward Drew Crawford, who scored 19 of his 30 points in the first half to lead the Redhawks to a 33-26 halftime advantage.

But Crawford fouled out on a charging call under the basket with 42.5 seconds left and his team behind 58-55.

Evans scored the final four points from the free throw line. Neuqua Valley (31-1) held Naperville (27-3) scoreless for the last two minutes.

"We didn't really panic," forward Derek Raridon said.

After a jumper by Crawford put Naperville ahead 55-54 with 2:20 to play, Raridon hit a three-pointer to give Neuqua the lead for good 57-55 with two minutes left.

Neuqua next plays Dundee-Crown on Tuesday at Northern Illinois.

Raridon had the game net in his hand as he described his team's unwillingness to collapse: "We were down to Benet and we were down to Batavia, so we knew what it's like to be down."

"We're no pushover," Evans said. "Our ultimate goal is to get to state. "