Neuqua Valley can't stop Naperville Central's Meier, Hallstrom
With three very talented players topping 20 points Wednesday night, the boys basketball contest at Naperville Central came down to which team possessed two of the three scoring stars.
The host Redhawks, with Matthew Meier and Harrison Hallstrom combining for 45 points, defeated the Joe Sieger-led Neuqua Valley visitors 59-53 to claim the tight DuPage Valley Conference affair.
Sieger knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and did his best to keep the Wildcats in the game with 22 points, but Meier and Hallstrom were just too much to handle as Naperville Central improved to 5-2 on the year and 2-0 in the DVC.
“It was a phenomenal game. Me and Harry knew, it was a big conference game,” said Meier, who led all scorers with 13 points in the first half and 23 for the night. “We knew in order for our team to win that me and Harry would have to play well consistently. I started off hot and Harry did too and then we kind of played off each other.”
The 6-foot-2 point guard had four baskets in the second quarter as the Redhawks turned a 15-13 deficit after one quarter into a 29-24 lead at the half. Meier finished the night with 7 field goals and also went 9 of 14 from the line, often making quick cuts to the basket and drawing fouls from the Wildcats.
Hallstrom, meanwhile, who missed much of Saturday's loss to Glenbard West with an ankle injury, scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half on Wednesday and also pulled in a game-high 8 rebounds.
With the two Redhawks proving hard to stop, Neuqua Valley came up short and fell to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference.
“We couldn't guard either guy whatsoever,” Wildcats coach Todd Sutton said. “No matter what we did they just dominated the game.”
Sutton was particularly impressed with Meier's play.
“Well we thought he might be the MVP (coming in) and we certainly think he's a lead candidate for MVP of the conference at this point,” he said.
While the Redhawks dynamic duo deserved much of the credit for the win, forward Brandon Baskin played a key role by slowing Neuqua Valley's Jacob Cushing, who shot 5 of 15 and finished with 11 points.
“Sieger did a great job for them and Cushing is so tough to guard,” Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. “Just cause he jumps so well … I thought Brandon Baskin did a really nice job on him defensively.”
Neuqua Valley opened the second half with a 7-0 run started off by a Sieger 3-pointer and an Alex Filo basket inside. But Hallstrom countered with a 7-point run all on his own with a 3-pointer followed by two baskets inside as the Redhawks went on to take a 44-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
“I think our senior experience showed tonight and also our younger guys are coming along,” said Kramer, who is hoping to get injured guards Nick Kramer and Noah Swope back later this month. “I feel like we're in a good place right now and we need to continue to strive to get better.”