Bolingbrook races past Metea Valley 87-58 for regional championship

BOLINGBROOK – It’s the end of February and the beginning of March. Temperatures are warming up, the summer concert lineups are rolling out, and the Bolingbrook boys basketball team is heading to sectionals.

So business as usual for this time of year.

Friday night saw Bolingbrook win the 4A Bolingbrook Regional championship with an 87-58 victory over Metea Valley. It’s the ninth consecutive year the Raiders have advanced to the sectional semis.

“Getting to do it (at home) is good,” coach Rob Brost said. “Me personally, I just want it for the kids. I don’t care how many we’ve won or how many in a row we have, I just want this for the kids, because they do what they’re supposed to do all the time, which is hard to do when you’re a high school kid.

“To be rewarded for that is special.”

Friday night’s game was a roller coaster in the opening half, though no one would’ve guessed that after the first quarter. The Raiders raced out to an 11-3 lead that grew to 19-9 by the end of the period. JT Pettigrew was a man on fire. as he scored over half those points with 10.

A quick three by Pettigrew was followed by a slam dunk by Thompson to start the second with a bang. Another triple by Thompson extended the Raiders' advantage to 32-15 midway through the second, and Bolingbrook looked like they’d run away with it.

The Mustangs said, “Not so fast, my friends.”

Metea Valley proceeded to go on a 14-3 run, as Jake Nosek started raining 3-pointers. Davion Thompson hit a pair of free throws late, but a buzzer-beating slam dunk by Tre Watkins cut the Mustangs' deficit to just 40-34 entering the locker room.

The second half is where Bolingbrook has done most of its damage this year, however, and Friday was no different.

The Raiders opened the third with an 11-2 run to get the advantage back to 51-36 midway through the period. Metea Valley got back within nine, but a late basket by Jayden Madden and a pair of free throws by Brady Pettigrew at the end of the quarter gave the Raiders a 65-48 edge.

The Raiders maintained their stranglehold in the fourth before closing out the win.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Pettigrew said. “We knew they were going to have their stretch and we were going to have ours, so we were just going to have to stay together, keep executing our game plan, and it would work out.”

Pettigrew led all scorers with 32, adding 13 rebounds. Thompson wasn’t too far behind with 22 points while also dishing out five assists. Brady put up 16 points, while Trey Brost added eight points and three steals.

The Mustangs (20-13) entered the playoffs as the ninth seed but played far more competitively than that throughout the night. Even when the game was out of reach, the effort never ceased.

Nosek had 21 points in the opening half to keep Metea Valley in it before finishing with 27. Tyler Miller (10 points), Watkins (nine) and Khalil Jones (seven) closed the season out with strong performances.

“I’ve played on varsity all four years, and these coaches are like family,” Nosek said. “I’ve grown up with them and become the person I am. We’ve built this culture where everyone is family here. We’re all best friends on and off the court, so it just means a lot to play for them. I know this program is going to build, grow and be successful.”

Next up for the top-seeded Raiders (28-4) will be the 4A Benet Academy Sectional semifinal against fourth-seeded Downers Grove North. Thompson believes Bolingbrook will be ready.

“We just have to stay focused on the main goal,” he said. “We just have to stay composed. We know they’re a good team, but we’re a good team too, and they’ve got to play us.”

The sectional semifinal game will be played at Benet Academy on Tuesday at 7 p.m.