SCN outlasts Sabres in UEC

It took nearly three quarters for St. Charles North's boys basketball team to take its first lead Friday night.

But once the North Stars (2-3, 1-0) finally grabbed a 42-40 lead on a pair of Zach Hirsch free throws with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter, they never relinquished it, pulling away down the stretch for a 69-55 Upstate Eight Conference victory over Streamwood (2-4, 0-1) in St. Charles.

Hirsch's foul shots were part of an 11-0 run the North Stars used to turn a 40-37 deficit into a 48-40 lead after three quarters.

"We came out flat," said guard/forward Jonathon DeMoss, who tallied 11 of his team-high 17 points during the North Stars' 40-24 second-half surge. "We decided in the team room at halftime to pick it up."

DeMoss made a concerted effort to get to the basket in the second half and it paid dividends, as the 6-foot, 4-inch junior converted 3 driving layups while adding 5 fourth-quarter free throws.

"Something that coach (Tom Poulin) always tells us is to attack the rim before we start shooting threes," said DeMoss. "One of our main goals is to get to the (free-throw) line."

The North Stars had plenty of practice, getting to the line 35 times while outscoring the Sabres 22-7.

"We needed it, too," Poulin said after watching his team make just 8 of 17 free-throw tries in the first half.

Tem Esikiel (game-high 19 points) and Kyle Holder (12 points) combined for 20 of the Sabres' 31 first-half points as the visitors carried a 2-point lead into the locker room.

But sloppy ballhandling crippled the Sabres' cause during a third quarter in which they were outscored 19-9.

"It got away from us in the third quarter," said Sabres coach Tim Jones. "We played a great first half and a decent fourth quarter. It was just that third-quarter stretch where we probably had more turnovers (8) than points (9)."

Tim Janeway added 12 points for the North Stars, while Nick Neari and Hirsch each chipped in with 10 points.

"At halftime, we just pointed out the mistakes we were making and a lot of it had to do with energy," said Poulin. "We didn't look motivated."

The Sabres, playing without starting guard Lou Colletti (flu), earned Poulin's respect during the conference opener.

"They play hard, they compete and they have people who can score," said Poulin. "When they start putting stops together, they're going to start building leads."