St. Charles North all business in Jacobs opener
They toted basketballs, not briefcases, but the St. Charles North players were all business in their Saturday morning appointment with St. Edward.
After falling behind 7-3 in the first quarter of a 10:30 a.m. pool play game at the Jacobs Holiday Tournament, the North Stars used their size advantage and superior athleticism to deny St. Edward throughout a 64-37 victory.
Junior Josh Mikes (6-foot-4) scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the first quarter to ignite a 16-0 run that put the North Stars in control, and coach Tom Poulin received strong contributions from his big men: Starter Kyle Nelson (6-foot-6) scored 12 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks and reserve Ryan Brown (6-7) scored 8 points, blocked 2 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds (6 offensive). Guard David Johnson added 12 points from the perimeter.
St. Charles North (6-5) outrebounded St. Edward 41-24, led 22-12 after one quarter, 44-27 at the half and 68-44 after three periods.
"We got what we wanted to get done here today," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "We wanted to come out focused and have a lot of energy in the first quarter and take care of business, just get off on the right foot in the tournament."
St. Edward (5-5) suffered its second straight lopsided loss. The Green Wave were defeated by 32 points by undefeated Wheaton Academy in a Suburban Christian Conference game on Friday night.
"They're big all around," 6-7 St. Edward center Zack Von Ahnen said of the North Stars. "(Mikes) is a phenomenal player. Inside and outside, all around, it's tough to stop a team like that. They've got a couple of big guys and (Friday) night we faced a couple of big guys. After playing talent like this, hopefully, things will get a little easier when we go back to playing in conference."
Brown showed signs of regaining his basketball legs in his seventh game back in action. As a sophomore he led the St. Charles North sophomore team in scoring, but he opted to sit out his junior year to concentrate on getting stronger for his senior season as the football team's left tackle. He decided to rejoin the basketball program after watching his former teammates play over Thanksgiving and should continue to improve "once I get my shot back and my touch and I get my legs back under me in basketball shape rather than football shape," he said.
The more Brown returns to form, the stronger the North Stars will get.
"We've got guys who can score inside," Poulin said. "We need to get them touches early. It can help you get to the bonus, it can collapse the defense and make our outside guys better and take a little pressure off our ballhandlers. Nothing but positives can come from getting the ball inside." The North Stars continue pool play against Wauconda on Monday at noon. St. Edward will play Prairie Ridge at 1:30 p.m.