St. Charles North upsets Plainfield North

PONTIAC - Jake Ludwig was not about to have a little blood deter him from achieving a major goal.

Twice forced to leave the Pontiac Holiday Tournament quarterfinal against Plainfield North with a head injury, the St. Charles North senior guard converted 5 pressure-packed free throws in the final minute of the famed boys basketball tournament.

The North Stars withstood a robust Plainfield North comeback attempt in the process, advancing to the Final Four for the first time in their four-year tenure at the 16-team tournament.

With its 70-68 victory Tuesday afternoon, the North Stars (8-4) won their sixth consecutive game to earn a semifinal date with Benet (8-2), which cruised past defending champion Curie in the first quarterfinal.

"I wanted to stay in the game and help my team win," said Ludwig, who led four St. Charles North starters in double figures with 24 points. "(Pontiac) is a special event. Our guys really enjoy it."

The North Stars needed all of their collective marksmanship from the perimeter to turn back the Tigers.

St. Charles North converted 10 3-pointers on the game; the team never trailed again after Mikey Schroeder drained the second of his four 3-pointers in the opening quarter.

"We couldn't beat a team as good as Plainfield North if we don't shoot well," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "We have really been preaching toughness since a 2-4 start."

Ludwig scored in the waning seconds of the second quarter to give St. Charles North a 36-32 lead at the break.

The North Stars erupted out of the gates in the third quarter as Schroeder hit back-to-back 3-point attempts, and Brendan McCarthy gave St. Charles North the first of several double-digit leads at 50-39.

Reserve guard Armon Osborne hit another 3-pointer for St. Charles North to give the team its largest lead at 58-45 late in the third quarter.

But the North Stars also had to contend with the Tigers' terrific tandem of Trevor Stumpe and Kevin Krieger.

The potent guard duo would combine for 49 of the Tigers' points as Stumpe led all players with 30 points.

Krieger capped a 14-1 Plainfield North run with an inside score to trim the North Stars' lead to 63-59 with four-plus-minutes to play.

But Ludwig and Jack Callaghan would have a response in turn.

Ludwig, who also had a game-high 9 assists, found Callaghan along the far-left baseline.

The senior forward, who finished with 10 points but whose floor direction proved indispensable, calmly drained the last of the North Stars' field goals.

"Coach drew (that play) up and Jake threw a perfect pass to me," Callaghan said. "I was in rhythm. It was a big shot, but I'm supposed to hit that."

"We left them open on virtually all of their 3-point attempts," Stumpe said. "They got hot."