Super start for Saints

The styles could not have contrasted more in the nightcap Tuesday evening in St. Charles.

The host Saints withstood 11 blocked shots by Proviso West, not to mention the unrelenting style of the Panthers for 32 grinding minutes, to win their season opener 66-57 at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament.

Collin Pryor, the Saints' improbable post turned shooting guard in the East new-look lineup, galvanized the team with game-highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way.

"We knew exactly what we were getting when we invited their kind of athleticism to the tournament," said St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi. "Proviso West is going to win 20 games off their athleticism."

The Saints (1-0) built a 31-20 lead late in the second quarter, but the Panthers, who tried to wear down St. Charles East with an 11-man rotation, fought back with three consecutive 3-point possessions in the last minute of the half to trail 31-29 at the break.

Proviso West extended its run to 11 straight on the opening possession of the second half to earn the hard-fought tie, but the Saints promptly answered with a 7-0 burst of their own that Pryor capped with two from the free-throw line.

The cushion was sorely needed. The Panthers (0-1) crashed the glass and hounded the Saints unmercifully all over the court.

Antoine Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third to keep the Panthers within striking distance, but St. Charles East always found a counter measure of its own.

The Saints doubled the Panthers' beyond-the-arc game total with six 3-pointers, and Ryan Suits and Marc Stellato kept Proviso West at bay with downtown jumpers in the third.

The second Smith 3-pointer of the third trimmed the Saints' lead to 49-45 entering the final quarter, and Pryor had a personal run of four straight to instantly double the East lead.

"We didn't really know anything about Proviso West coming into the game," said Pryor, who is headed to Division II power Northern State in South Dakota next fall. "I think the difference was we had more heart. As the game went on, we had to make some adjustments."

The Panthers' Donta Moore scored 8 of his team-leading 20 points in the fourth, but the Saints' cohesiveness down the stretch paid dividends.

"We played a well-polished team," said Proviso West coach Tommie Miller. "We're very young, and I think the inexperience was the difference in the end."