St. Charles North smothers Warren

PONTIAC - They were truly daggers to Warren.

St. Charles North reserve guard Armon Osborne hit two of his five 3-pointers on consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter.

The last of his game-high 15 points nearly doubled the North Stars' lead as the St. Charles North smothered Warren with its defense in the first game of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament Monday morning.

With its 41-25 victory, St. Charles North (7-4) not only captured its fifth straight win but also advanced for a quarterfinal date with third-seeded Plainfield North (8-1).

Warren, which shot 24 percent from the field (9-for-37), failed to reach double digits in any of the four quarters in falling to 4-7.

"It's pretty much what I do," Osborne said of his spark off the bench. "I was feeling it. (My teammates) just kept feeding me."

"He's a zone-buster," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said of Osborne. "He is someone who is very important to us, whoever we play."

But the North Stars' latest triumph at Pontiac was the product of an almost impregnable defense.

St. Charles North limited the Devils to respective quarter totals of 5, 7, 6 and 7.

The North Stars had their fair share of offensive difficulties as well, none more so than in the third quarter when the team collectively missed 7 layups.

"We left a lot of points out there," Poulin said.

Warren, which trailed 20-12 at the break, closed to within 22-18 during the North Stars' run of missed point-blank shots.

But Jake Ludwig hit a 3-pointer to end the quarter, and team leader Jack Callaghan had both of his buckets in succession to start the fourth quarter for St. Charles North.

Warren would never come within single digits again.

"We had 10 days to prepare," Callaghan said of the North Stars' defensive wizardry. "We knew about every (offensive) set they had before they ran it. We were really well-prepared."

Osborne then had his back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the North Stars' 13-1 run and extend the lead to 35-19.

The Devils' only field goals of the quarter were 3-pointers by Jovan Jokic and Jake Falish.

Maurice Chambers' 8 points led Warren.

"At the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, you have to play defense and rebound; otherwise, you're going to be in trouble," Poulin said.

Ludwig finished with 9 points for North.

"We break down offensively when we have any kind of pressure," Warren coach Ryan Webber said. "We're just not good at executing right now."