Fourth quarter costs Saints at Mt. Carmel
For 26 minutes, St. Charles East went toe-to-toe with Mt. Carmel. However, the final six minutes belonged to the Caravan.
Collin Pryor's layup with 5:51 remaining tied the game at 45-45, but Mt. Carmel ended the game on a 19-7 run to finish off a 64-52 win over the visiting Saints.
"We kind of fell apart as a team," Pryor said after scoring 16 points before fouling out. "In the first three quarters we were really playing as a team and helping each other out. I think personally it came down to they beat us in one quarter.
"They started playing as a team and their athleticism really started to show. We just have to keep composure and we didn't do that tonight."
St. Charles East (3-6) opened the game with seven of the first nine points and used a 16-4 run in the second quarter to take a 23-16 lead with 2:23 left before halftime.
The Saints hit 15-of-22 shots in the second and third periods, and led 41-40 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter was all Mt. Carmel (5-4) as the Caravan hit all eight of its shots and outscored St. Charles East 24-11 while forcing several critical turnovers.
"Our kids battled extremely well tonight and we're extremely proud of their effort," Saints coach Brian Clodi said. "But again you have to finish games. They obviously turned up the heat and they forced us into some stupid turnovers. Again, we're that close.
"We're playing a great team and we're coming up about three or four minutes short. It's something to work on and something to get ready for February."
St. Charles East had 17 turnovers Saturday, a common factor in recent defeats. The Saints are 2-3 in their last five games and are averaging 23.7 turnovers in the three losses.
Pryor picked up three quick fouls in the first half and was forced to the bench for the final six minutes of the second quarter. Kevin Senechalle picked up the slack, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the first half.
"(Senechalle) got a lot of post touches, he finished around the rim and he probably had his best game of the year," said Clodi. "But we're not happy. We want 20 next game. We think he's that special of a player.
"He took a step in the right direction and we're hoping to feed off that for the next game."
Zach Scott scored 8 and Marc Stellato added 5 points for St. Charles East.
D. J. Cooper hit seven 3-pointers and had 25 points to lead Mt. Carmel. Freshman Tracy Abrams scored 11 off the bench while Allen Clark and Steve Filer both chipped in 9 points.