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ST. CHARLES –After suffering tough back-to-back DuKane Conference losses, including a one-point double-overtime setback at the hands of Lake Park, St. Charles East’s boys basketball team went back to work Friday night.
Shooting 65% (17 of 26) in the second half while piling up 44 points, the Saints (5-3, 2-2) recorded an impressive 67-41 road victory over crosstown rival St. Charles North (4-6, 1-3).
Senior forward Andrew Wolfsmith led the Saints with 13 points and five rebounds, while Gavin Szerlong added 11 points, five assists, and three steals.
“The past couple games, we’ve been playing hard,” said Saints coach Rob Klemm. “Our defense has been great — it has been a staple for us and it has kept us in games. We were just struggling to put the ball in the basket.
“We had a great week of practice. We didn’t play last Saturday and it gave us more time to prepare. The kids responded.”
The Saints built a 14-3 first-quarter lead, as the North Stars struggled offensively, making just one of their first nine shots.
Led by junior forward Cooper Mellican (11 points), the North Stars outscored the Saints 12-9 in the second quarter to trim the halftime deficit to 23-15.
However, the Saints opened the third quarter with a 16-5 surge to grab a 39-20 lead, receiving a boost off the bench from Cooper Jensen, as well as back-to-back 3-pointers from Szerlong.
“My teammates set me up,” said Szerlong. “We were in a good flow. That’s how we practice. When we get open like that, we knock down those shots.”
The Saints led by as many as 27 down the stretch, receiving contributions from Michael Hill (nine points), Brad Monkemeyer (eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals), Sam Tisch (six points, seven rebounds), and Marco Klebosits (six points, five rebounds).
“We tried to take what they gave us — those back-cuts were there,” said Klemm. “We had a few turnovers here or there but overall the kids played really well.”
It was a rough night for the North Stars, who shot 26% from the field (11 of 43).
“Obviously, they were better tonight,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said of the Saints. “They came into our gym and took it to us.”
Girls game:
Despite watching her team let a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter slip away early in the fourth quarter, St. Charles East girls basketball coach Katie Claussner remained positive her team would fight back.
“We have four captains and they preach championship mentality,” said Claussner. “We know there are going to be runs in games.”
Trailing 40-38 in the first minute of the final quarter following a 3-pointer by St. Charles North sophomore guard Lelanie Posada, the Saints (8-2, 4-0) regained the lead on a 3-pointer from Brooklyn Schilb (13 points, eight rebounds) and emerged with a 52-46 road win over the North Stars (11-2, 2-2) Friday night.
“We stayed locked in,” said Claussner. “Even though they threw a punch at us, we made sure we did the little things right.”
Brooklyn Schilb’s two free throws with 4:18 left gave the Saints the lead for good at 45-43, and her 3-pointer from the corner 2 ½ minutes later iced it.
Junior Addie Schilb added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Sofia O’Sullivan (10 rebounds) and Corinne Reed finished with 11 points apiece.
“It feels really nice,” said Addie Schilb. “This is the first time in my career that we have beaten North.”
The Saints outrebounded North 43-28.
“This was the second time in a row where we’ve been outrebounded by double digits,” said North Stars coach Mike Tomczak, whose team was paced by junior Sydney Johnson’s 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
“We’ve got to figure that out.”
Riley Barber added 11 points for North.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20241220/boys-basketball/basketball-st-charles-east-earns-bragging-rights-with-sweep-at-st-charles-north/