St. Charles North tops Geneva to surpass .500

When your record is at .500, you tend not to be picky when it comes to winning games.

So moments after St. Charles North's 43-32 victory over Geneva Saturday night in St. Charles, the North Stars weren't about to apologize for not scoring style points while climbing above the .500 mark for the first time all season (9-8, 4-1).

"We prefer getting up and down the court," said North Stars sophomore guard Quinten Payne, who tallied a game-high 15 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. "(Scoring) 40 points is not what we go for every game but we got the 'W.' It's like you take the wins any way you can get them."

Payne helped give the North Stars a comfortable early lead with a spectacular second-quarter sequence that included a 12-foot jumper and a steal and layup capping a 10-0 run that extended their lead to 17-4.

St. Charles North, which led 7-2 after one quarter, enjoyed a 21-9 halftime advantage.

"We went to a 1-3-1 matchup (zone) kind out of respect for Geneva's ability to run its offensive system," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "We thought the best way to make them a little bit uncomfortable was to go to a matchup zone and it worked tonight.

"I think the last time we ran it was in the regional final against South Elgin (two years ago)," added Poulin. "We haven't used it that often but we'll pull it out now and then."

Geneva (8-13, 3-3), playing without the services of leading scorer Dan Trimble (concussion) for the third consecutive game, had problems shooting the basketball throughout the Upstate Eight Conference River Division contest.

Limited to 4-of-24 shooting in the first half, the Vikings hit just 18 percent of their field-goal attempts through the first three quarters (27 percent for the game).

"I'm not sure what we shot but I wouldn't be surprised if it was around 20 percent," said Vikings coach Phil Ralston. "It was a tough deal tonight. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds, we had 18 turnovers and we missed several point-blank shots.

"Those types of things are sort of insurmountable but then you say we lost by 11 (points) and you're thinking it could've been a 30-point loss."

After the Vikings' Will Doeckel (14 points) and Dan Hince scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to pull within 21-13, the North Stars seized control with a 9-2 surge that included a transition layup by Josh Mikes (10 points, 7 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tony Neari, who added a pair of offensive boards.

Junior center Kyle Nelson (7 points, 3 blocked shots) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as part of the North Stars' 36-26 edge on the glass.

"We were overmatched," admitted Ralston. "We were trying to jump with Mikes and their 6-7 kid (Nelson), and we're not going to out-jump those guys."

The North Stars, who struggled at the free-throw line (14-for-29), nevertheless sealed the decision with 10 fourth-quarter free throws.

"When a team gets frustrated and has to foul you, it means you're doing your job as a group," said Poulin.