Nelson powers St. Charles N. past Larkin
Senior center Kyle Nelson led 4 players in double figures with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, as St. Charles North (8-12, 4-2) pulled away down the stretch for a 67-58 Upstate Eight Conference River Division basketball victory over visiting Larkin (11-7, 3-4).
It was a "signature win" for the North Stars, who remained a game behind conference leaders Elgin and Geneva in the loss column heading into Thursday's road clash with the Maroons (15-1).
"It's not easy against Larkin this season," North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. "Larkin is as good as anybody we've seen so for us to defend our home court and really lead pretty much start to finish and withstand their runs is huge.
"We won this game because of all 15 players, including the guys that ran Larkin's stuff yesterday (Monday)," added Poulin. "We had one day to get it done because we had a JV game Monday."
Clinging to a 51-50 lead with 4:53 remaining, the North Stars went on a 10-2 run over the next 2 minutes to extend their cushion to 61-52.
Quinten Payne (11 points), who was saddled with foul trouble most of the night, canned an NBA-range, 3-pointer during the run that was capped by Jason Weinzirl's 3-pointer from the corner.
The 6-8 Nelson also added 7 fourth-quarter points, including a nifty up-and-under move that resulted in a 3-point play and a spin move for a layup.
"Whatever works," said Nelson. "I'm not going to get picky. If it goes in, I'll take it."
"We got Kyle Nelson some touches and he took what they gave him," said Poulin. "When 'Q' was out with foul trouble, we played through Kyle and shared the basketball."
Nelson scored 8 of his points in the second quarter, as the North Stars grabbed a 31-24 halftime advantage.
"This was a total team win and it's one we needed," added Nelson. "When Quinten got in foul trouble, we had people filling the shoes."
That list included junior forward Kyle Swanson (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) and senior guard Michael Schroeder (13 points).
"Michael played a great game offensively and defensively," said Poulin. "He was the player of the game if you ask me. Michael is a smart basketball player who only really takes what he obviously should take, and that's an open 3-pointer or layup."
Larkin, which trailed 11-2 in the first 4 minutes, regrouped and actually opened a 23-19 lead midway through the second quarter until Schroeder buried a clutch 3-pointer from the corner. The North Stars finished the period on a 9-0 run.
Quentin Ruff came off the bench to lead the Royals with 14 points, while Quantice Hunter added 13.
The Royals, who defeated previously unbeaten Plainfield East last Saturday, connected on just 11 of 25 free-throw attempts, including 4 of 11 in the fourth quarter.
"We just didn't make enough good decisions to win the game," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We didn't execute well enough and you can't do that on the road in this league against a team of this quality."
Ian Fluhler added 9 points for the Royals, who saw their 3-game winning streak snapped.
"We played hard," said Carter. "We just didn't play well enough."