Cole Kelly, Mason Martin and Neuqua Valley earn a statement win against Bolingbrook
Cole Kelly and Brady Pettigrew are the future of Illinois high school basketball. The Neuqua Valley and Bolingbrook star sophomores are exciting, nationally-ranked players and any hope of the area returning to prominence starts with them.
The two stars and their highly-ranked teams met up on Saturday in Lisle at When Sides Collide, hosted by Benet.
“Obviously I think this game was put together to see us go at it,” Kelly said. “[Pettigrew] was guarding me a lot but I wasn’t really guarding him. We put that aside and it was my team vs. his team and we are just playing basketball.”
Both players lived up to their hype, and teams provided a fast-paced, high-scoring game with major lead swings. No. 9 Neuqua Valley trailed by 14 in the second quarter, but Kelly spearheaded a third-quarter surge, and the Wildcats beat No. 8 Bolingbrook 75-69.
Kelly, a 6-6 guard, finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. It was the first major showcase game for one of the state’s most promising talents.
“I came [to When Sides Collide] when I was in eighth grade and freshman year, and I knew I really wanted to play in it,” Kelly said. “I live for the big games, big crowds with all eyes on me. And coming out with the win makes it even more sweet.”
Kelly scored 13 points in the third quarter, and the Wildcats (21-1) held Bolingbrook (14-6) to just one field goal and three free throws over a six-minute stretch of play.
“Defensively we were really bad in the first half,” Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said. “We couldn’t guard [Pettigrew] and their posts were killing us on the boards.”
Kelly is effective on the perimeter, in the post and all over the court. His extra efford on the boards in the third quarter made a noticeable difference in the game.
“Our guys down there block out and do everything right but they just don’t have the size,” Kelly said. “So I tell them to just push guys out and I will come clean up the boards. That’s what happened in the second half.”
Mason Martin, a 6-5 junior who recently committed to Illinois, scored 28 for Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats’ starting lineup and playing rotation is nearly all juniors. Junior Lucas Balgro added nine points and juniors Carter Coviello and Arshil Khimani buckled down and handled Bolingbrook’s pressure defense in the second half.
“We try to play fast but that’s another level of fast,” Kelly said. “On defense [Bolingbrook’s] high intensity pressure defense is something we aren’t used to.”
Pettigrew led the Raiders with 26 points. Senior TJ Williams added 19 points and 6-7 senior Elijah Anderson added 10 points and nine rebounds.
“They outplayed us in the second half, obviously,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “We got a little complacent and then we missed some shots that we would normally make. [Sutton] has won 700 games for a reason. He’s the best coach that we play against. No offense to any of the other coaches, but he’s probably the best coach in the state. And now he has some real tools to work with. Those guys are shot makers.”