St. Charles North prevails despite cold shooting night
At halftime of Friday night's Streamwood-St. Charles North basketball game, three North Stars students and three faculty members squared off in a spicy chicken wing eating promotional contest.
It was about the only hot thing that occurred in the North Stars' gym all night, as the two teams combined to make just 5-of-33 three-point attempts and 13-of-27 free throws.
But the North Stars (3-2, 1-0) made their foul shots when it counted most, converting 7 of 8 free throws during a 9-0 run over the final 1:07 to help preserve a 45-31 victory over the Sabres (1-4, 0-1) in both teams' Upstate Eight Conference opener.
"We didn't shoot real well from the outside but we did get some touches in the paint and we still got the ball inside against the zone," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "We were able to either generate an open look from the outside or a dump down low."
On a night where points were at a premium, sophomore center Kyle Nelson responded by knocking down 7-of-8 shots from the floor on his way to a game-high 14 points with 8 rebounds.
"It was nice to get our first conference win but we could've played a lot better, especially offensively," said Nelson.
Trailing 10-9 after one quarter and 15-13 midway through the second quarter, the North Stars grabbed a 21-15 halftime advantage thanks to an 8-0 surge over the final 3:54 - all coming from Nelson and guard Beau Blakeley (11 points, 3 assists).
"When we spread the floor with our three guards and didn't play on the 3-point line but played a couple feet away from it, it took away the threat of us scoring but it did spread their zone (defense) a little bit," said Poulin.
"That let Kyle (Nelson) get open in the paint and fortunately he shot well. He can shoot the ball. He has worked a lot in the off-season on his midrange game because he's got a decent back-to-the-basket game."
Chris Conrad added 9 points for the North Stars, whose top two returning scorers from a year ago - Josh Mikes and David Johnson - were limited to 6 points.
"I think that shows how ugly a game it was," said Poulin. "Against man-to-man (defense), you can go to your go-to guys but against a zone you really have to play team ball, and I thought we did that the majority of the game."
Derrick King scored 8 of his team-leading 10 points in the opening quarter for Streamwood, which was outscored 18-7 in the fourth quarter.
"I thought King played a heck of a game - he held his own against Mikes," said Sabres coach Tim Jones.
"Nelson had a nice game - that was the X factor."
With the game on the line, the Sabres were held to just 2 fourth-quarter field goals while committing 4 costly turnovers.
"They were dumb ones, too," added Jones. "Offensively, our execution was not there down the stretch. No one took charge."
St. Charles North returns home tonight to face Elgin.
"To be 3-2 and not shooting the ball real well over our first five games, I think that's a good sign because I know these guys can shoot," said Poulin.
"When they do get hot, it'll be that much better."