Naperville Central boys basketball and new head coach Mike Wilson begin the conference slate against Neuqua Valley led by freshman sensation Cole Kelly. The six-foot-six underclassmen comes in averaging a near-double double with 17 points and nine boards over his first four games. The Redhawks hope to slow him and the rest of his teammates down, while seeking their first win over the Wildcats since February 2021. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Cole Kelly shows off his skillset early and often
Cole Kelly gets cooking right away with a board and then displays a nice assist to Whitman Charbonneau and connects for three to give Neuqua a 5-0 lead.
It’s a slow start for Central, but Alex Laibo finds TJ Hillman, who drives and pulls the floater to get the Redhawks on the board.
A few possessions later, Naperville Central turns the ball over, and Kelly makes them pay with a breakaway and look out below it’s a dunk for Kelly. The Wildcats lead 11-7 after one.
We jump to the second quarter with Central still trailing but not for long because Evan Moss is open in the corner and hits the trifecta for a 14-12 Redhawk lead.
Back come the Wildcats and Kelly. Andrew Hoffman passes to the freshman wearing twenty three who buries another three-point basket.
Central gets a turnover on defense but the Neuqua defense gets disruptive because David Taiwo rejects Hillman into next week.
Over a minute until the half, Kelly continues his assault as he shoots the NBA range three and book it. That triple makes it 24-23 Wildcats.
Redhawks stay on top at the half
However, Central answers quickly. After nice ball movement, Hillman passes to Cooper Page, who goes off the glass to put the Redhawks back in front 25-24 at the half.
The Wildcats get their juice going in the second half with Charboneau, who poses a beautiful euro step and scores with a foul.
The game is even at 32, but not anymore because Alex Laibo dishes out to Preston Kuta, who is near the corner, and bingo. That’s a three-ball for Kuta and a 35-32 lead for the Hawks.
From there, the game of runs begin for Neuqua Valley. Charboneau looks for an open Mason Martin, who kisses the glass. The Wildcats go on a 7-0 run to lead 39-35 after three.
The Redhawks cut into that run with another three-pointer from Page that gets them back within one.
Neuqua Valley goes on a run to seal the game
The Cats are able to take complete control from there. Martin gets the ball to Luke Johnson in the paint, who misses but gets his board and put back.
As for Cole Kelly, there he is on the wing and kaboom. Thirty-one points in the game for Kelly as Neuqua Valley goes on a 28-8 run down the stretch to take down Naperville Central 60-43.
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