Boatright drops 55 on St. Charles North

Only allowing one player to reach double figures in scoring, like St. Charles North's defense did Friday night, is typically a recipe for a victory.

Except when that one player is East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright.

The UConn recruit scored what is believed to be a record 55 points in the 52nd annual St. Charles East/Ron Johnson Thanksgiving tournament, carrying the Tomcats to a 75-66 victory over the North Stars.

But Boatright wasn't just Michael Jordan. He also was Oscar Robertson, turning in a triple double with 12 steals and 11 rebounds.

“I wanted to come out aggressive this game. I felt I came out flat the last couple games,” said Boatright, who scored 17 and 24 points in the Tomcats' first two games.

“My shot was just falling. I didn't think I was going to get to 50, I thought I'd get 40.”

Boatright scored 15 points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, 9 in the third and 17 in the fourth. He made 21 of 35 shots from the field and 10 of 14 at the free-throw line and added 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and three 3-pointers.

“I've been playing him since fifth grade,” North Stars senior Chris Conrad said. “He's always been the fastest, the quickest. He's a player. He's going to do big things at UConn.”

Boatright's first high school game came in this same tournament against the same opponent as a freshman in 2007. Boatright scored 14 points in that game.

He nearly had that many before a teammate scored Friday. Boatright scored East Aurora's first 13 points of the game.

St. Charles North (0-3) still led after the first quarter, 19-18. But when the Tomcats' second-leading scorer Snoop Viser went to the bench with 2 fouls, Boatright shouldered even more of the scoring load.

His 360 move on a fastbreak drew Kyle Nelson's second foul and capped an 11-0 Tomcat run for a 29-18 lead. The North Stars, who opened with 6-foot-4 Quinten Payne on Boatright, switched to a zone on the next possession and Boatright immediatally swished a 23-foot 3-pointer.

By halftime he had 29 points and East Aurora led 40-33.

“Give ‘Boat' the ball and get out of the way,” joked East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries on the team's strategy.

“His ballhandling and his ability to finish at the basket is fantastic. I told all the scouts, what's the most unique thing about him, it is his ability to get to the basket and finish with either hand.”

Boatright's career night included four thunderous dunks that left the large crowd buzzing, a crowd that included Illinois assistant coach Jay Price. Payne, who also has an impressive vertical, challenged Boatright on one breakaway in the second quarter only to watch Boatright soar even higher and dunk over him.

Payne had a breakaway slam of his own as part of his 14-point, 5-assist-, 5-rebound night. He got a little revenge when he scored and was fouled by Boatright, cutting the Tomcats' lead to 66-60 with 2:12 remaining.

But Boatright was simply unstoppable, scoring 17 of East Aurora's final 18 points. He broke the 50-point mark in style on another breakaway steal and slam with a minute to go.

“He's impressive,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “We game-planned not to leave him and to have three people totally committing to help. We really didn't get that.”

Boatright shattered his previous career high of 45 points, which he scored during the regular season against Streamwood last year and in the regionals against Neuqua Valley. He just missed breaking Tom Kivisto's school record of 56 points while recording East Aurora's first triple double since Thomas Wyatt.

“We keyed on Boatright and Viser and to give up 55 is unacceptable defense,” Conrad said. “He's so crafty. We let him get to the lane way too fast.”

East Aurora (2-1) will play St. Joseph (1-2) for fifth place at 4 p.m. Saturday. The North Stars meet St. Charles East (0-3) for seventh at 2:30 p.m.

Boatright's performance overshadowed several impressive lines from the North Stars. In addition to Payne, Nelson scored 12 points and hauled down 18 rebounds, Josh Mikes had 16 points and 9 boards and Conrad scored 15 with three 3-pointers.

“We got better today,” Poulin said. “You have to take your hat off and credit him. He's a very impressive basketball player.”