St. Charles North slows down Plainfield East

St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said he lost sleep the night before opening its season against Plainfield East at the 56th annual Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament at St. Charles East.

The way his North Stars played it could soon be opposing coaches with some sleepless nights preparing for St. Charles North.

Returning standouts Jake Ludwig and Jack Callaghan picked up where they left off while junior Mike Schroeder shined in his varsity debut. The three combined for all but 6 of the North Stars' points in a 58-50 victory.

Schroeder capped his 16-point night with a corner 3-pointer on an assist from Ludwig. That 3 - his fourth - extended a 51-48 lead to 6 with a minute remaining, and the Bengals never got within a single possession again.

"That's his job, he's a scorer," Ludwig said. "As long as we keep doing their roles we will surprise some people.

"That was a definition of a team win right there. We knew how good they were. We knew what we do and stuck together and played defense."

St. Charles North (1-0) capitalized on foul trouble to Bengals star Aaron Jordan. The University of Illinois recruit scored the first 4 points of the game - which turned out to be the Bengals' biggest of the night.

Schroeder's first 3 gave the North Stars their first lead at 9-8, and moments later Jordan went to the bench with his second foul.

Jordan only played one minute in the second quarter, picking up his third foul on a charge.

"It is definitely frustrating," Jordan said. "I've always had this problem so I have to look at myself and make a big change in order to help the team this season. Foul trouble is one thing I can't be in. I have to fix something."

After a 6-point first half, Jordan scored 19 in the second to finish with a game-high 25 points. Ten of them came in the third quarter as Plainfield East (0-1) pulled within 36-35.

"We couldn't catch a break in the third," Poulin said. "We fouled, we also didn't get any calls that could have gone either way. We didn't play well in the third and they played at a high level."

Jordan fed Wilyam Wright on a fastbreak layup to put the Bengals up 37-36 to open the fourth quarter, erasing the North Stars' earlier 12-point lead. It also started the best sequence of play on both ends.

Ludwig quickly followed with a drive and a 38-37 lead only to see Jordan swish a long 3-pointer. Callaghan came right back with a floater to tie the game at 40 with 6:14 left.

After that exchange, the North Stars buckled down on the defensive end and kept executing on offense. Ludwig and Callaghan's back-to-back 3s opened a 48-44 lead.

Moments later Callaghan spotted a wide-open David Pozna for a lay-in and 6-point edge.

"I was really happy with our composure, how we answered," Poulin said. "They refocused, buckled down and made some plays. I thought we defended well."

Ludwig led St. Charles North with 21 points. He also chased Jordan for much of the night.

"It was more fun than anything. He's a really good player, as you can see he put up some points on me, but it was fun to guard him," Ludwig said.

Callaghan finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds against a tall Plainfield East front line.

"Jack made people better," Poulin said. "He scored when he needed to score, he facilitated. He's battling guys with six and seven inches on him."

The North Stars held the Bengals to 37.7 percent shooting from the field (17 for 45) while forcing 20 turnovers. It's the third straight season they have opened against Plainfield East, and the North Stars have won them all.

"I think that's one of the best teams in the state," Poulin said. "Take a look at that lineup and they have all the pieces. That's a great early test, a barometer for us."

Both teams return to action Wednesday. The North Stars play Metea Valley (1-0) at 6:30 p.m. just after the Bengals play Downers Grove South (0-1) - hoping to begin the game like it played the third quarter.

"We need to start the game like that," Jordan said. "The game is about punches and when they threw their punch we couldn't dig down and get our punch in."