St. Charles East scores 95 in regional victory over Streamwood
St. Charles East is ready to "empty the tank."
The Saints stopped a three-year losing streak in the regional semifinals in resounding fashion Tuesday, a 95-69 win over Streamwood at the Class 4A Elgin regional semifinal.
St. Charles East advances to face crosstown rival St. Charles North Friday, as the Saints seek their first regional title since 2016.
The two teams shared the DuKane Conference title this season, but the North Stars swept the season series - not that the Saints needed the reminder.
"We're very excited," said St. Charles East senior Chase Monkemeyer, who had 23 points and eight rebounds Tuesday. "As coach (Pat Woods) said, 'It's hard to beat a team three times in a row, and if there's a time to beat them, it's this time.'"
Chimed in Saints senior teammate Sean Sullivan: "It's going to be a fun game; it's going to be crazy. We're all so competitive; we just want to win. We grew up with them, so it means even more to us."
St. Charles East built up an 18-point second quarter lead that was whittled down to eight at the half.
But the Saints (24-7) ripped off three consecutive buckets from Monkemeyer, Thomas Ditsworth and Sean Sullivan following three Sabres turnovers to stop Streamwood's momentum.
Streamwood's Kyle Maybrun hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout, but Saints guard Zack Clodi responded with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to make it a 16-point game with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
Clodi finished with 18 points while Sullivan had 17 points and five rebounds.
"Well, we started the third quarter with three straight turnovers and three straight (Saints baskets) so it went from an eight-point game to a 14. That was it, and that was embarrassing. (We) turned the ball over, missed shots," Streamwood coach Kent Payne said.
Despite Sabres junior Jakobe Strong ripping off 33 points - 19 in the first half - Streamwood (15-15) couldn't match the Saints' offensive firepower. Darrel Luce had seven points and nine rebounds, while Luke Pentecost finished with 12 points, all on threes in the first half.
"We thought about (the regional semifinal losing streak) a little bit, talked about it briefly but we were just more worried about Streamwood," Woods said. "Clearly why, because I have the utmost respect for what (Payne) has done and what they do. We couldn't take our guys out because they just kept coming at you and they didn't let down."
The attention now turns to Friday.
"(Our guys are) excited; I'm sure North is excited too," Woods said. "It's going to be your typical throw-everything-out-the-window East-North battle, which is a meaningful one. Conference co-champs. I'm sure our guys kind of want to prove they belong there.
"And then North wants to prove that they own it, so there's no doubt it's going to be fun. It's going to be a fun 32 minutes."