Monkemeyer, St. Charles East shoot past Lake Park
Chase Monkemeyer is soft-spoken.
Monkemeyer, a St. Charles East senior, lets his play on the court do the talking. Where credit is often due, Monkemeyer tends to divert attention to his teammates.
The 6-foot-4 senior was once again the Saints' go-to offensive threat in a dominant 74-44 victory over host Lake Park Friday night in DuKane Conference action.
The victory, coupled with St. Charles North's loss to Wheaton Warrenville South, placed East (12-6, 6-1 DuKane Conference) in a tie with the North Stars atop the DuKane Conference.
Monkemeyer scored a game-high 26 points, with another efficient night from the floor.
"He just always lets the game come to him," East coach Pat Woods said. "He doesn't overly dominate the ball, he just makes his reads. I think that's what makes him so tough. He doesn't have a patented, go-to move, he just makes the right reads and plays the game hard ... just a great teammate out there."
"I've just tried to become more of a leader out there," said Monkemeyer, who finished 10-for-15 from the field. "I think we have a lot of guys coming in and giving us energy off the bench and we feel very confident as a team right now."
After falling behind on the first couple of possessions, Monkemeyer and fellow senior Sean Sullivan hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give East an early 10-6 advantage. The Saints never trailed again.
St. Charles East closed the first quarter and began the second quarter with a 15-5 run, including six straight points from Monkemeyer to begin the second frame.
"He's been ridiculous and awesome for us all season long," Sullivan said of Monkemeyer. "He's our best player. He comes to play every single night and just does whatever it takes for us to win ... He doesn't force shots ever. He has it all out there and brings it each and every night."
Even when Lake Park (15-5, 4-3) closed a once 15-point deficit down to eight near the end of the third quarter, it was Monkemeyer who put the nail in the coffin. He sparked a 12-0 run with five straight points to begin the fourth quarter, forcing a timeout by Lancers coach Billy Pitcher.
"Our mentality right now has to be a lot different," Pitcher said. "We had to have at least 20 turnovers tonight. Give (St. Charles East) a lot of credit. Their system is great and all of their guys are playing with confidence. They are playing as well as, and probably better than, any team we have seen all season."
Not only did Monkemeyer and East score 12 straight points on that run, but the Saints allowed just five points in the fourth quarter to finish the game on a 27-5 run. Sullivan also reached double figures in scoring for East with 11 points as 10 different Saints scored.
Montrell Perry scored 14 points and Trevor Montiel had 13 points and 8 rebounds to lead Lake Park, while Luke Sgarbossa chipped in 12.
"I knew this group was such a cohesive, tight group that played very hard," Woods said. "The way they have bought in (to our system) to me is really impressive. It's been fun, but we're not getting too caught up in any performance. We just want to come out, play hard and wear people down."