St. Charles East, 76, Lake Park 57
It was a pair of second-half offensive spurts that St. Charles East used to bury Lake Park on Friday, and they didn't come as a big surprise.
"We knew they were a team of runs, and when they're on they can fill it up," said Lancers boys basketball coach Cray Allen, after his squad's 67-57 Upstate Eight Conference loss.
"I'd hate to face them in the regionals, because they're a very good team."
"They're running our system, executing our offense, and they're playing really good defense," Saints coach Brian Clodi said of his Saints. "We held (Lake Park) to 57 points, and it came down to defense."
It was anybody's game in Roselle through two quarters, as the Saints (11-11, 5-3) led 29-28 at the break. The Saints' Collin Pryor led all scorers with 24 points on the night, 10 of which came in the first half.
Michael Pavone and Matt Drufke scored 8 apiece for Lake Park (7-15, 1-6) before halftime. Drufke finished with 11 points, while Pavone scored 12.
The Saints' first offensive run came to start the third, with Pryor drive to the hole and a 3-pointer from Ryan Suits that started the ball rolling. Another Pryor basket underneath and a Suits trey made it 41-31, and the Saints went up by 13 points on a Pryor hoop on a feed from Phil Kohlhagen.
After going scoreless in the first half, Suits scored 8 of his 13 points in the third quarter, while Pryor and Kevin Senechalle scored consistently in the paint.
"I didn't want to force anything, and Zack (Scott) and Kevin (Senechalle) were finding me open," Suits said. "The ball was just moving, and I got it right in rhythm."
The Saints outscored the Lancers 18-13 in the third quarter, and the main source of that scoring edge was no secret.
"Our defense," Suits said. "We made some stops, and capitalized on some turnovers. People were finding each other, too. We had some wide open looks and we were knocking them down."
Danny Baylis helped the Lancers chip away at his squad's deficit, burying a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and scoring 9 of his team-high 17 points. A Drufke basket at the end of the quarter cut the Saints' lead to 47-41.
"Baylis and Drufke are going to be a pretty good (guard) tandem next year," Allen said. "I've got a lot of respect for both of those kids, and they play well together."
The Lancers cut their deficit to 4 points before the Saints went on a 12-0 run that put them up 61-45, featuring treys from Suits and Marc Stellato and capped by a Senechalle basket underneath.
The Saints never looked back from there.
"They outrebounded us 14-4 in the second half. I just told the fellas, 'You want to lose ballgames, get out-rebounded in the second half,' " Allen said. "That was a big factor in the game."