St. Charles North tops St. Charles East
Far more than cross-town bragging rights were on the line when St. Charles East and St. Charles North met Saturday afternoon in the 52nd annual Ron Johnson/St. Charles East Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament.
Both teams were still searching for their first victory of the young season.
After spotting an 11-point lead early in the third quarter, the North Stars (1-3) stepped up their defensive intensity and went on a 35-13 surge over the final 13:35 to rally past the Saints (0-4), 66-55.
Senior forward Josh Mikes poured in a game-high 29 points with 13 rebounds and a pair of steals for the North Stars, who overcame a sluggish start in the seventh-place contest.
“We dug ourselves a hole early again,” said Mikes, who nearly single-handedly kept the North Stars within striking distance in the first half as he hit his first 8 field-goal attempts while scoring 19 of the team's 29 points. “But we were able to come back from it this time. We came out with a lot of energy in the second half.”
Trailing 42-31 after Charlie Fisher's coast-to-coast layup, the North Stars finished the third quarter with an 18-6 run that included balanced scoring from Quinten Payne (14 points), Chris Conrad (9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Kyle Nelson (8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), and Mikes.
St. Charles East took a brief 50-49 lead on a runner from Johnny Hondlik (12 points, 5 rebounds) with 7:30 remaining, but Conrad buried a 3-pointer from the corner on the next possession to put the North Stars up 52-50.
Fisher's driving layup knotted the game at 52 with 6:11 left, but the North Stars responded with a 7-0 run that included Mikes' 3-point play and a pair of free throws from Nelson.
North Stars coach Tom Poulin was happy his team got the much-needed win but realizes there's plenty of room for improvement.
“It's always a battle against them because of the familiarity but also because they're well-coached,” said Poulin. “That intensity we played with most of the second half that needs to be the norm.
“This tournament tells you what you need to work on and we've got to figure out how to defend as a team, and keep the ball out of the lane and away from the rim,” he added.
Sophomore Kendall Stephens led the Saints with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, but also had to sit out a crucial 6-minute, second-half stretch after picking up his fourth foul (all coming in the third quarter).
When he left the game, the Saints led 45-39. When he returned, the score was tied at 52.
“Obviously, it changed the game,” Saints coach Brian Clodi said of Stephens' foul trouble. “As a coach, I didn't think it should change things because the next guy's got to go in and do his job.
“Mentally, we did not play smart with a 9-point lead,” added Clodi, whose team committed just 8 turnovers but was out-rebounded 49-29. “We did a lot of 1-on-1 stuff that wasn't there.”
Dan Ditusa added 9 points for the Saints, who led 37-29 at halftime.
“It was a tale of two halves,” said Clodi. “In the first half, we played great with three turnovers and put up 37 points. In the second half, you can't win when you only score 18 points.”