Streamwood tops St. Charles East

St. Charles East 78, Streamwood 63: St. Charles East boys basketball coach Brian Clodi believes in his team's outside game.

"We've got guys who can shoot it," said Clodi. "We've got four or five guys so we like it when teams zone us."

With Zach Scott and Marc Stellato leading the way, the Saints (3-5, 1-2) shot holes in Streamwood's zone defense for the first 12 minutes before giving way to teammate Collin Pryor's inside presence.

Scott and Stellato combined for 7 of the Saints' 8 first-half 3-point baskets, while Pryor did the rest, netting 21 of his team-high 30 points in the middle two quarters during the Saints' 78-63 Upstate Eight Conference home court triumph over the Sabres (3-6, 0-3) Friday.

The game began inauspiciously for the Saints, who trailed 2-0 before the ball was even put in play. Referees called a technical foul on one of the Saints' players for hanging on the rim during pre-game warm-ups.

Streamwood grabbed an early 7-2 lead before the Saints found their long-distance shooting eye.

Scott, who finished with 6 of his team's season-high 11 3-pointers, canned a pair of jumpers from beyond the arc while Stellato and Pryor also added long-range shots as the Saints tied it at 17 after one quarter.

While the Sabres were struggling from the field, hitting just 5 of 17 second-quarter field goal attempts, the Saints continued their torrid pace.

Scott and Stellato (9 points) each added a pair of 3-point baskets, while Pryor took over from there, making all 5 of his second-quarter shots -- most of them coming after the Sabres switched from their zone to a man-to-man defense.

"You pick your poison with them," Streamwood coach Tim Jones of his team's defensive strategy. "You're either going to get killed inside with their post play or hopefully you figure that they're not going to make all of their threes like they did.

"That's the choice you've got to make sometimes."

Scott, who made 6 consecutive 3-pointers before finally adding a conventional basket in the fourth quarter, felt in a good shooting rhythm all night long.

"My stroke was there -- I was locked in, I guess," said Scott. "I think by us making threes on the outside, it opened up the inside."

Pryor, who shot 13-for-19 from the field and also collected 10 rebounds, proved nearly impossible to stop once the Sabres pulled out of their zone.

"I owe it all to my teammates for getting me the ball where I need it," said Pryor.

Streamwood junior guard Tem Esikiel led all players with 33 points.

"Everybody says he's one of the top five players in the conference," said Clodi, "and he showed it tonight. For only having played the game for three or four years, the sky is the limit for that kid."