Sophomore guard/forward Kris Mporokoso is aware of the doubters who say Waubonsie Valley’s strength of schedule isn’t as strong as most of the other state championship contenders.
But he doesn’t seem too bothered by it, either.
“You can’t really listen to outside people,” Mporokoso said. “We know what we can do. We know what we’re capable of. We do it in practice every day, so we had to make a statement this game.”
Waubonsie Valley made a big statement Saturday at the Indian Creek Shootout.
Illinois State-bound senior point guard Tyreek Coleman totaled 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals as the Warriors pulled off a thrilling 60-56 victory over formidable Warren.
Senior forward Moses Wilson finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals for Waubonsie (27-1), while senior guard Joshua Tinney added nine points and four assists.
Anybody doubt the Warriors now?
“We let it fuel us,” said Waubonsie coach Andrew Schweitzer, whose team is seeded second behind Bolingbrook at the Class 4A Benet Sectional. “There’s actually a coach in our sectional that seeded us fifth, the only one to do that.
“I won’t call him out by name but you can put that in the paper. Unbelievable.”
The Warriors got off to an unbelievable start against Warren, sinking 10 of 14 shots in jumping out to a 24-10 lead after a frenetic first quarter.
“It’s all about preparation,” Mporokoso said. “On our bus ride here, no one was talking.
“We were all serious. We weren’t laughing or giggling. We were all locked in.”
Mporokoso doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to shoot, but he locks in when he does.
He had eight points, including a crucial 3-pointer, but the Blue Devils (20-10) would rally to force a 53-53 tie on a turnaround jumper by Jack Wolf.
Coleman answered with a putback to put Waubonsie back on top. On the next possession, Tinney found Mporokoso open in the left corner for a 3-pointer that made it 58-53 with 1:25 remaining.
“That was my moment,” Mporokoso said. “I just had to hit it. I had to shine.”
Schweitzer had a feeling Mporokoso would, too.
“We’ve been telling him all year he can be as good as he wants to be, and to see him be aggressive like that — he’s a special, special talent,” Schweitzer said. “Everyone talks about Tyreek and Moses, but if he keeps moving forward like that, he can be a real X-factor for us.”
Delivering in the clutch left Mporokoso almost speechless.
“I can’t even give it a word,” Mporokoso said. “It was amazing. The bench was going crazy.”
It was just the beginning of a crazy finish that saw the Warriors turn the ball over twice in the final minute. The Blue Devils cut the deficit to 58-56 on a 3-pointer by Owen Squires and then had a chance to tie or win.
But with 5.5 seconds left, Wilson intercepted an inbounds pass along the sideline and threw down his fourth dunk of the game to cap the scoring.
“He just threw the ball away, so I just went over and got it,” Wilson said. “I tried to waste time a little bit and then I got my dunk. It’s a great feeling.
“We drove an hour to come out here. Guys were sleeping on the bus, so we came in and had a lot of bounce and energy in the beginning. We completely executed and we were all stoked.”
Especially since it was statement the Warriors wanted to make.
“Do not count us out,” Wilson said. “We can compete with anybody, so we’re going to play hard and give it our all.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
