St. Charles North's lead slips away
For two and a half quarters Tuesday afternoon, the game belonged to St. Charles North.
Unfortunately for the North Stars, there were still 10 minutes left to play.
After Kyle Nelson and Quinten Payne combined for 30 first-half points while helping the North Stars build a 35-23 halftime lead over Zion-Benton, they still held a double-digit advantage at 43-33 with 3:04 left in the third quarter.
But Milik Yarbrough and Gabriel Ramirez led the Zee-Bees (6-6) on a 27-8 run over the final 10:15 to power past the North Stars, 60-51, during pool play action at the Jacobs Holiday Basketball Classic in Algonquin.
Things began to unravel for the North Stars (4-8) when the Zee-Bees went on a 12-2 surge over the final 2 minutes of the third quarter.
First, Zion-Benton reserve guard Gabriel Ramirez scored 5 points in 8 seconds — nailing a 3-pointer, making a steal and hitting a short jumper to make it 43-38.
After Nelson's dunk upped the North Stars' lead to 45-38, Zion-Benton closed out the quarter with 7 straight points, highlighted by Yarbrough's buzzer-beating, NBA-range 3-pointer that tied the game at 45-45.
“They just picked up the pressure a little bit and were a little more interested defensively than they were in the first half,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said of the Zee-Bees.
Senior guard Richard Ray's offensive rebound basket gave Zion-Benton its first lead of the game at 47-45 with 6:50 remaining.
Yarbrough (22 points, 12 rebounds), a 6-6 sophomore forward, capped a 19-2 run with 5 straight points, including an off-balance 3-pointer that gave Zion-Benton a 52-45 lead.
St. Charles North never got within 6 points the rest of the way.
“We're very disappointed with our composure, our decision-making and our leadership down the stretch,” said Poulin. “They're (Zion-Benton) a very good basketball team and you know they're going to make runs on us. But it shouldn't kill us.”
St. Charles North made just 2 of its 12 fourth-quarter field goal attempts, as Nelson (23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocked shots) and Payne (17 points) were limited to 2 points total over the final 8 minutes.
“We weren't happy with some of the things we were doing that helped them along the way during that run but you have to respond to it,” said Poulin. “We didn't respond real well. I think we tried to get all the points back on one possession and went away from playing team basketball.”
Even Zion-Benton coach Don Kloth was surprised with how quickly his team turned things around.
“We were hoping to get to maybe within six by the end of the third quarter but we just played a solid second half,” said Kloth. “Yarbrough is a solid player who can score in a variety of ways but we got contributions from a number of people.”
While Payne and Nelson combined for 78 percent of the North Stars' offensive production, the 6-8 senior center took just 1 fourth-quarter shot, adding to the overall frustration level.
“With all this talent we have, to not be able to put something together,” said Nelson. “With a 12-point lead and one more half to play, and not be able to pull out a win, it's frustrating.”
St. Charles North will return to action at noon Thursday.