It didn’t take Metea Valley very long to understand the significance of what it did Thursday night.
Its third straight victory in tow, courtesy of an impressive fourth-quarter run, after dispatching of West Aurora with a 16-point victory, Metea Valley finally has a signature victory it can hang its head on with the regular season coming down the home stretch.
“Oh, huge. I mean, huge. Just who their program (represents) and where they are in conference and you know, we’ve been looking for that big win all year against a quality opponent,” said Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza, whose program recorded its first-ever victory over the program Gordie Kerkman has turned into a staple of excellence and consistency within the state of Illinois. “We’ve been close with Benet, Notre Dame a little bit (at the Wheaton Warrenville South MLK Tournament), but we got it (Thursday) and it was good for our guys and our confidence and what we want to do.”
Thanks to putting the clamps down on the Blackhawks’ Illinois State-bound senior forward, Roland Griffin, and ending the game on a 34-11 run, the Mustangs paid the Blackhawks back in some form for the Blackhawks’ 75-54 victory over the Mustangs in mid-December.
Griffin recorded a double-double for the Blackhawks in the 21-point victory back in December and had a game-high 24 against Metea Valley on Thursday.
By virtue of a switch to a 3-2 zone, the Mustangs held him to just one basket in the fourth quarter while the game’s outcome was still in question as the Mustangs outscored the Blackhawks by 18 points in the final eight minutes.
“(Griffin) is a really good player and you know when you play someone like that, you can’t show him the same defense all the time,” Metea Valley senior center Mark Konkle said. “You got to mix it up a little bit and I thought that was a great call by Coach (Bob Vozza) and we just executed really well. It’s been something we’ve been working on a while.”
Konkle’s team-high 18 points for Metea Valley (11-12, 6-5) led an offensive attack that saw four others—Ron Edwards, Dei’Ron Delarosa, Bryson Oliver and Nick Dodson—join him in double figures.
Konkle, a Hillsdale College signee as an offensive lineman on the football field, came into Thursday averaging 14.5 points and 7.9 rebounds a game for the Mustangs.
It’s no secret that when the Mustangs are rolling offensively, the involvement of 6-foot-6 Konkle is paramount.
“It’s very easy (to play with Konkle) because everyone’s focused on him. So it’s good for us to get open shots or go to the lane (when he’s in a groove and in rhythm),” Edwards said.
According to Vozza, the five guys the Mustangs had in double figures against West Aurora on Thursday was a season-first and it represents the type of momentum he hopes his team carraies into their game at Oswego East on Tuesday and beyond.
At 14.5 and 10.7 points, respectively, Konkle and Edwards were the only two Mustangs averaging double figures entering Thursday’s game with West Aurora.
If they can find a consistent third scorer to go along with what Konkle and Edwards are giving them will only aid their chances in possibly winning the program’s second regional title and first since 2011-12 when they went 25-5.
“I think it’s a process for us. The last three weeks since (the) Wheaton South tournament, I thought we’ve been playing some good basketball and just keying on the guys to keep going in that direction,” Vozza said.
