Cayla Evans, DeKalb girls rout Metea Valley; boys lose double overtime thriller

DeKALB – Both the DeKalb girls and boys basketball teams had leads late in games against Metea Valley on Friday.

The girls kept defensive momentum throughout their 39-14 win over the Mustangs, with Cayla Evans providing an offensive spark. But the DeKalb boys couldn’t hang on to a 3-point lead in the closing seconds of the first overtime and lost a double-overtime thriller 63-60.

[ Photos: DeKalb hosts Metea Valley in DVC girls basketball action ]

For the DeKalb girls, it was their fourth conference win, matching the most they’ve won since joining the DuPage Valley Conference in 2019-20. They have three conference games left.

“Our success comes from working together,” said Evans of the Barbs, who won only one conference game last year. “We try to be together all the time, communicating, holding each other accountable. That works for us.”

In the boys game, neither team led by more than six in regulation. After the Barbs (14-6, 2-3) took the lead at 45-43 on a 3-pointer by Sean Reynolds with less than three minutes left, they didn’t trail again until the double overtime.

But James Parker kept coming up with big late shots for the Mustangs (14-7, 3-3), including the tying layup with 2:17 left that knotted the game at 45, the last bucket of regulation.

[ Photos: DeKalb boys host Metea Valley on the hardwood Friday ]

The Barbs led 48-45 after a layup by Marquise Bolden in the first overtime. He then got a steal and was fouled, but missed both free throws with 2:00 left. He pushed the lead back to 50-47 with 19.7 seconds left, but Parker connected on a 3-point play with 11.1 seconds left to tie things up and force the second overtime.

“He’s very strong, very strong with the ball,” Metea Valley coach Isaiah Davis said of Parker. “He did a good job of getting to the basket, finishing through contact,and knocking down the free throw. Then we got timely stops when we needed it.”

Eric Rosenow had a 3 bounce off the rim at the buzzer to end regulation, then at the end of the first overtime Jackson Kees had a 3-pointer bounce off the rim, roll briefly on the hoop and roll off at the buzzer.

DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said the Mustangs played better through contact than the Barbs, and it showed particularly in the overtime periods.

“You have to hold your ground,” Mike Reynolds said. “It was a very physical game. Credit Parker; he kind of did what he wanted. He played through contact and he finished it. And we weren’t able to. It was a frustrating one because like what’s happened a couple times in the league, to Metea the first time and Waubonsie, we thought we had the game in hold. We missed some free throws, missed a couple layups and turned the ball over once and that was the game.”

The Mustangs hadn’t hit a 3-pointer all game, missing their first five attempts. But Jake Nosek and Tre Watkins hit 3s on back-to-back possessions. After a stop, Parker connected on another 3-point play to push the lead to 62-56 with 46.5 seconds left.

The Barbs got it down to 63-60 with 13 seconds left but couldn’t get a final stop.

“Those [3-pointers] were huge,” Davis said. “You need those to fall in this kind of game, just to get you over the hump. I was just proud of how we hit those timely buckets.”

Sean Reynolds led the Barbs with 20 points, adding five rebounds and two steals. Jackson Kees added 16, while Davon Grant had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

For the Mustangs, Parker finished with 23 points, while William Ashford added 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Watkins scored 10 off the bench.

“Both teams played really hard, and any team could have won that game,” Davis said. “We were fortunate to hit some shots. DeKalb hit some big shots. That’s one of those ballgames where no team deserves to lose.”

Girls contest

In the girls game, both teams struggled to score early. It took three minutes for Metea Valley (2-13, 0-6) to become the first team to score on a 3-pointer by Arianna Hammons. It was their only field goal of the quarter. DeKalb (13-9, 4-2) ended the frame up 5-4, and pushed the lead to 14-4 in the second and 29-9 in the third.

Evans came up big each time the Barbs hit a dry spell. She scored eight straight points in less than four minutes to start the second quarter, and her layup with 5:44 in the third was the first points of the quarter and kicked off an 11-2 run that helped the Barbs end the third up 33-11.

“We were moving the ball, getting a lot of touches, getting some reverses,” DeKalb coach Bradley Bjelk said. “As that ball was reversed, it would find her. She does a fantastic job attacking the gap and getting to the rim and finishing. She’s very athletic and shifty.”

Evans finished the game with a game-high 12 points. She also had four rebounds, two steals and a block.

DeKalb forced 14 turnovers in the win, and the Mustangs made just five field goals. Bjelk said the defense started off strong for the Barbs and led them to the win, and Evans added that the defense helped spark the offense at times.

“Playing together really helped us score the ball on offense,” Evans said. “When we make mistakes on offense, we just try to get it back on defense. We try to push through our offense by first doing good on defense.”

Hammons and Skyler Fleurry each hit a 3-pointer and led the Mustangs with three points. Reese Vallah had a team-best four rebounds and two steals.

“We’ve been struggling all year scoring the basketball, and that was our downfall again today,” Metea Valley coach Keith McIntosh said. “We just struggled to put the ball in. ... We got our normal open looks, we just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop.”