Boys Basketball: Mekhi Lowery, Oswego East block party send Wolves past Neuqua into sectional final

OSWEGO – Mekhi Lowery’s smile peeked through his mask at the mention of Oswego East’s shot-blocking exploits.

With his lanky 6-foot-5 frame, Lowery can cover ground like few players and impacts the game everywhere defensively. He seems to take special pleasure, though, with rejecting opponents at the rim.

“I’m always trying to stop the big guys in the paint,” the Oswego East junior said. “I’m trying not to foul, trying to be the best rim protector I can be for my team.”

[ Photos: Oswego East vs. Neuqua Valley, Class 4A Oswego Sectional semifinal ]

He was part of a virtual wall Tuesday.

Lowery accounted for six of Oswego East’s stunning 12 blocked shots, to go along with his 11 points and 11 rebounds.

That block party helped the Wolves hold Neuqua Valley to just two points in the second quarter, and they went on to a 54-40 win in the Class 4A Oswego Sectional semifinal.

Patrick Robinson added three blocks and Ryan Johnson two for Oswego East, which beat Neuqua Valley for the second time this season.

Wolves’ coach Ryan Velasquez didn’t need long to think about what makes Lowery such an uncanny shot-blocker for a kid listed as a guard.

“His arms go for days. He’s just so long,” Velasquez said. “He does so many good things on the defensive end. Maybe offensively he doesn’t always fill stats but defensively he gets it done, high-pointing the ball, getting rebounds.”

Indeed, when Lowery wasn’t blocking shots Tuesday, he was cleaning up on the defensive glass. He rejected shots at the rim, and twice stepped out to block perimeter shots.

“I definitely surprise people with my versatility defensively,” Lowery said.

DeVon Oregon had 14 points and three steals, Darren Oregon 11 points and four steals and Patrick Robinson nine points for Oswego East (33-1), which advances to meet the winner of Wednesday’s game between Bolingbrook and Andrew in Friday’s sectional final. Luke Kinkade scored 15 points and Cole Vonnahme added 11 for Neuqua (22-11).

The first half, in particular, wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty on either side. The two teams combined for 22 turnovers, and Neuqua led 13-12 after a quarter despite leading scorer Jayden Dean sitting the first quarter.

Oswego East took control of things defensively, holding Neuqua scoreless the last 6:33 of the second quarter. Lowery’s follow shot and two Darren Oregon free throws capped off a 12-0 run to send the Wolves into halftime ahead 26-15.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the teams’ first meeting, when Oswego East limited Neuqua to just three second-half field goals of a 53-33 win.

“The doors blew off there. That second quarter was rough,” said Neuqua coach Todd Sutton, whose team shot 1-for-12 with seven turnovers in the second quarter. “Give them credit. We couldn’t score against them. Twelve blocks, in 36 years of coaching I’ve never seen that, that’s incredible.”

Kinkade’s three-pointer closed Neuqua to within nine with a minute left in the third quarter, but Lowery’s driving layup in the final seconds extended the margin back to 40-28.

When Lowery was not blocking shots, the Oregon twins seemed to be coming up with steals at the point of the attack. Velasquez said the Wolves showed the Wildcats different looks early on – and apparently different color-coded zones – to keep them on their toes.

“We switched to ‘white’ which is our 2-3 zone and ‘silver’ which is our 1-3-1,” Darren Oregon said. “When we go in that, teams just fall apart, they don’t know what to do.”

The Wolves know what they want to do. Already holding a school record for wins, they can win the school’s first sectional title Friday.

“It’s really special,” Darren Oregon said. “We all knew what we wanted to do since middle school, elementary school. Before the season it was our goal, to go to state. Have to keep working.”

“Proud of their effort tonight,” Velasquez said. “These guys aren’t complacent. They know they’re not finished. They’re hungry, and they have an edge to them. We go back to work tomorrow.”