Proviso West nips SCN

The St. Charles North boys basketball team managed to wait for all the excitement toward the end of their game against Proviso West.

For the first three quarters, neither team led by more than 6 points. With less than three minutes left to play, however, the North Stars found themselves trailing by double-digits.

That's when the excitement really got started. The North Stars managed to come back and tie the game, only to have Proviso West's Robert Covington score the final basket in the Panthers' 64-62 win at St. Charles East's 50th annual Thanksgiving Invitational Friday.

"I thought we played hard most of the game, and then we really played at the level, speed and intensity we needed to play at the end of the game," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "We are improving every game. I definitely saw a lot of improvement from the last game (a 53-46 loss to Downers Grove South). I'm proud of the effort, but we just need to play a little smarter."

Proviso West led most of the second half. Its biggest lead was 59-47 after an 8-0 run with 2:38 left to play.

The North Stars (1-2) then proceeded to go on an 11-0 run, led by Nick Neari and Mike Lefelstein (13 points off the bench). A free throw from Myles Morgan with 1:24 left to play stopped St. Charles North's run, but another basket from Neari 10 seconds later tied the game at 60.

Proviso West's Floyd Battle and St. Charles North's Josh Mikes traded baskets for the sixth tie of the game with less than a minute to go. The two teams also exchanged crucial turnovers and timeouts before Covington's lay-up with three seconds to play sealed the game for the Panthers.

"We definitely saw what's ahead," Neari said. "We will learn from this game and hopefully get a lot better."

Neari ended up leading the North Stars with 15 points - 13 of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Seven of those points were tallied in the final two and a half minutes.

"If he decides to play at that level, he can do it," Poulin added.