Neuqua Valley junior forward Connor Davis saw a familiar face in a unusual position.
His teammate John Poulakidas was on the bench after he picked up two early fouls in the Wildcats’ Class 4A Lockport Sectional semifinal on Tuesday.
“I knew John was out then, and I had to take over and start shooting some more,” Davis said. “That is what ultimately I had to do.
“I had to keep scoring and shoot the ball.”
Davis scored a game-high 21 points, but Joliet West rode a fourth-quarter wave to a 50-40 win.
Coming off a 31-point performance in the Wildcats’ win over Plainfield North in a regional final on Friday, Poulakidas was held to just three points against Joliet West (29-4). His 3-pointer pulled the Wildcats (25-9) into a 38-38 tie with 6:30 remaining.
But Davis’ layup provided Neuqua Valley’s only points over its final six possessions, during which the Wildcats had five turnovers, as the Tigers scored 12 of the last 14 points.
“We missed some layups, and we committed some really bad turnovers,” Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said.
A junior guard/forward, Poulakidas sat out the final 9:47 of the first half after being issued two fouls in the first quarter. He picked up his third with 5:25 left in the third quarter and was forced to sit again.
“I do think I was a little tentative at the start of the third quarter because I was worried about picking up that third foul,” Poulakidas said.
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“Once I did get into the game in the second half, they were face-guarding me and doubling me off the catch. It was hard to get into my rhythm.”
Davis scored 16 points in the first half as Neuqua Valley built a 26-25 halftime lead.
Senior forward Mark Gronowski scored six points, and senior forward Nonso Ogbuefi added five points.
The Tigers ran different defenders at Davis in the second half. He rarely had space to maneuver.
“They were physical, athletic and strong,” Davis said. “They were going to try and muscle me, and that is what they were able to do.”
Neuqua Valley reached its first sectional semifinal since the 2014-15 season. The 25 wins is the highest season total since that 2014-15 team finished with 27.
“We didn’t go out the way we wanted to, but I think we proved a lot of people wrong,” Poulakidas said. “We should have been able to execute better down the stretch. That is on us, and it comes with maturity and experience.
“We played a high-level basketball team in Joliet West until the last minute of the game.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.