Mikes delivers another St. Charles North win
In addition to the huge crowds that always turn out for a St. Charles East-North game, the schools welcomed Comcast SportsNet to St. Charles Saturday night.
North Stars junior point guard Chris Conrad didn't hesitate when asked what he is most looking forward to when he gets a chance to see the game on TV.
"Definitely Josh's dunk," Conrad said. "I'm excited to see that. It was pretty sweet."
Conrad will enjoy his teammate's slam, and he'll also like the pair of baskets Mikes scored late in the fourth quarter to break open a tie game on their way to a 62-54 victory in front of a near capacity crowd at East.
While St. Charles East (7-10, 1-4) only led during the first four minutes of the game, the Saints stayed close throughout. Down 22-21 at halftime, St. Charles East tied the game four times in the second half but never regained the lead.
Spencer Motley forged the final tie at 44 with a pair of free throws. Mikes, who had just picked up his fourth foul, scored twice down low making it 48-44.
St. Charles North (12-9, 4-3) increased its lead from there, with Conrad adding a key 3-pointer and 4 free throws for the North Stars, who hit their final 8 from the line in the last 1:21 to keep a safe cushion.
"I think we had good composure down the stretch," North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. "We did just enough to win."
Mikes received a challenge from Poulin before the game when the coach asked his leading scorer to step up in the rivalry game like Dustin Lee, Nick Neari and Jonathan DeMoss have done in years past.
Mikes responded, starting with his breakaway dunk midway through the first quarter set up on an outlet pass from David Johnson. Mikes had to sit the final 5:34 of the first half with 2 fouls yet still scored 23 points.
Fifteen of his points came in the second half when Mikes was able to play through his foul trouble. He hit 10 of 14 shots from the field and 3 of 4 at the line.
"I knew I had to keep my hands off completely and keep my hands to myself," Mikes said.
Six-foot-7 Ryan Brown joined Mikes giving the Saints fits inside with 9 points and a game-high 12 rebounds that paced the North Stars' 39-25 rebounding advantage.
"We capitalized down the stretch and that's what we've been trying to work on," said Conrad, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. "We hit free throws, hit some shots, got the ball down low."
The fact Mikes had such a big game was one of two things that bothered Saints coach Brian Clodi. The other was his team's struggles to convert open looks under the basket.
"You can't let their option A beat you. We can't let Mikes beat us. Someone else has to beat us," said Clodi while also pointing to his team's 16 of 44 shooting inside the arc.
"They (the North Stars) made plays down the stretch to win the game, you have to give them credit," Clodi said. "They finished theirs. That was the difference."
Drew Vazquez played an outstanding all-around game for the Saints, scoring 17 points and adding 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Jess Striedl added 12 points, 10 in the first half, and Motley scored 11 off the bench including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"I'm proud of these kids in this kind of an atmosphere. They laid it on the line," said Clodi, whose team has lost six straight in the series. "We have three ex-alums on my coaching staff and they let them know it means something. Our kids understand that and we'll go back to work on Monday."