SCN falls to East Aurora; Saints upset St. Joseph
Take away a few minutes here and there and it could have been a different result for St. Charles North's basketball team Saturday night.
This time, however, the North Stars (2-2) were unable to overcome some of their own mistakes as 27 turnovers helped contribute to their undoing during a 61-46 loss to East Aurora (3-1) in the third-place game of the 51st annual Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament at St. Charles East.
"About 80 to 85 percent of that game went the way we wanted it to go as far as trying to dictate the pace," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "They weren't on fire from 3s (3-of-18) which they had been throughout the tournament. That helped us.
"But toward the end of the second quarter and in different stretches of the second half, they sped us up - and we made mistakes. Not just one mistake but three or four in a row that led to points."
A layup by Josh Mikes (11 points, 7 rebounds) helped the North Stars draw within 1 at 18-17 with 3:17 left in the second quarter but the Tomcats answered with an 8-2 run over the final 2:48 to increase their halftime margin to 26-19.
Another 8-2 surge, fueled by a 3-pointer from Snoop Viser and 3-point play from Tramell Weathersby (11 points), helped East Aurora extend its lead to 37-23 midway through the third quarter.
But the North Stars scored 6 of the final 9 points of the period, capped by Mikes' 12-foot baseline jumper, to get back in the game, trailing 43-36.
Two free throws from Chris Conrad (team-high 15 points, 3 steals) made it 43-38 early in the fourth quarter but that was as close as the North Stars would get.
Senior guard Ryan Boatright poured in a game-high 24 points with 7 steals and 5 assists for the Tomcats, who were held to their lowest point production in 4 tournament games.
"I wanted to see us compete with East Aurora, which is possibly the best team in the conference this season, and use it as a barometer - to see where we're at," said Poulin. "We didn't have a ton of time to prepare for East Aurora defensively but I thought we competed."
David Johnson and Kyle Nelson chipped in with 8 and 7 points, respectively, for the North Stars, who begin Upstate Eight Conference play at home Friday night against Streamwood.
"Every game we have to come out and play defense and rebound," said Johnson. "And we have to be smarter with the basketball."
Poulin also gained some valuable knowledge about his team during the 4-game tourney.
"We learned that we can be good," said the coach. "It's a process though - a marathon not a sprint." St. Charles East 50, St. Joseph 48: St. Joseph scored the opening 5 points of the game against St. Charles East; thoughts of another runaway over the hosts, however, fell by the wayside.
"It was a signature win for our program to beat a prestigious program like St. Joe's," St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said.
"We've played them six times now and this is the first time we've beaten them. Two years ago, we were up 2 with 12 seconds remaining in regulation and lost in overtime."
In defeating the East Suburban Catholic League power for the first time, St. Charles East senior guard Drew Vazquez had the sequence of the contest.
With the Chargers (1-3) nursing a 43-41 lead, Vazquez changed the complexion of the contest with a 3-point field and 3-point play on consecutive possessions to give the Saints (1-3) the lead for good.
Vazquez scored a game-high 17 points, and classmate Jess Striedl added 16 as the Saints survived two St. Joseph potential game-tying field-goal attempts in the waning seconds to prevail.
"Our shot selection was perfect for the entire game," Clodi said. "It was just a great win for our kids." The win should give the Saints confidence heading into Friday's battle with another state power, Neuqua Valley.
"It was a much-needed win," Clodi said. "It showed our kids that if you execute, if you believe in the game plan and stick to it, good things can happen."
- Kevin McGavin and Craig Brueske