Adduci’s 29 lifts St. Charles East
Dom Adduci might only be a sophomore, but he couldn’t help wanting St. Charles East to celebrate senior night a little more often.
“I was joking with my teammates that I wish it was senior night every night,” Adduci said after pouring in 25 of his career-high 29 points in the second half of the Saints’ 68-64 win over Glenbard West.
Glenbard West (15-9) built a 32-16 halftime lead, then extended to 45-26 in the third quarter when 6-foot-8 Pat Mazza elevated over 6-foot-5 Kendall Stephens for a three-point play at the rim.
The Saints (14-11) called timeout after that play, one that would have had NBA announcers buzzing “he just got poster-ized.” Those same announcers would have had a ball describing what came next.
From that point with four minutes left in the third quarter until the Saints grabbed their first lead three minutes into the fourth quarter, Adduci caught fire scoring 12 points during a 24-4 burst that turned the 19-point deficit into a 50-49 lead.
Charlie Fisher added a pair of baskets and Johnny Hondlik (15 points) knocked down a timely 3, but it was Adduci doing most of the damage. He fed Kendall Stephens for a transition basket to bring the Saints within 49-45, knocked down a corner 3 with Mazza flying at him, then drove hard for basket while being fouled to put the Saints on top.
“When I shot it I visualized he (Mazza) wasn’t there,” Adduci said of his 3 under heavy pressure. “After it went in I didn’t realize how close he was to me.
“I hit a couple quick shots, I knew it was going to be a solid second half and my teammates did a great job finding me in open space.”
Adduci wasn’t finished. His free throw broke the final tie at 53, and he followed with another 3 for a 57-53 lead with 2:26 remaining. The Hilltoppers never had the ball with a chance to regain the lead as the Saints kept scoring to finish off a 52-point second half.
After taking 15 3s in the first half and shooting 23 percent (6 of 26) from the field, the Saints cut their 3-points attempts in the second half to 7 and blistered the nets at 67 percent (18 of 27).
“Layups are a lot easier to make than 3s,” Saints coach Patrick Woods said. “That was our big adjustment.”
Holding the Purdue-bound Stephens to 7 points was of little consolation to Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder.
“It doesn’t matter if you do a good job on one guy and let another guy go nuts,” Hoder said. “We let him (Adduci) get going. We had a lead and they started really attacking. He hurt us in transition and scramble plays.”
Michael Mache led the Hilltoppers with 22 points, the last two a vicious slam dunk for the game’s final points, his second slam in the game. Mazza added 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Seniors Dom Urso and Brent Kage got starts for the Saints in place of Stephens and Adduci. Both hit 3s and combined for 10 points.
Four years ago in this same matchup the John Shurna-led Hilltoppers rallied from 15 down to beat St. Charles East behind 21 points from the future Northwestern standout.
This time the Saints got the comeback win as they followed up last week’s double overtime loss to Plainfield East with another strong showing against a quality opponent.
“They are tough games and they are perfect for setting up for state playoffs and that’s what we are trying to get ready for,” Woods said.