St. Charles North tops Kaneland at United Center

The Bulls had a Tri-Cities undercard prep boys basketball game Saturday afternoon at the United Center.

All 26 players who dressed for St. Charles North and Kaneland saw action in the nonconference game, and all but four of them scored.

Unfortunately for Kaneland, St. Charles North scored at a much greater clip during its 70-43 victory.

"We always want to make memories and create memories that you want forever," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said of the experience.

Kaneland coach Brian Johnson expressed similar feelings.

"It's fun watching kids play on an NBA floor," Johnson said. "A lot of smiles."

The North Stars' Jake Ludwig, coming off a first-team all-tournament performance at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament this week, led three St. Charles North players in double figures with a game-high 15 points.

The North Stars (9-6) had their first-double digit lead by late in the first quarter in scoring 20 of the first 28 points of the opening eight minutes.

Ludwig had 7 points in the opening quarter.

Kaneland (5-8) had back-to-back 3-pointers from Steven Limbrunner and Ryan David to start the second quarter, drawing to within 20-14 in the process.

But it would be as close as Kaneland narrowed its game-long deficit for the rest of the contest.

The North Stars responded with a quarter-closing 16-3 run to take a commanding 36-17 lead at halftime.

Ludwig had consecutive 3-pointers during blitz, and guard Armon Osborne, who finished as the second-leading scorer with 12 points, came off the bench to add six more in the period.

As usual, the North Stars' consummate team leader, Jack Callaghan, ran the offense with a mixture of awareness and wisdom.

"St. Charles North is really good," Johnson said. "They have dynamic players in Ludwig and Callaghan. They have guys who know their roles."

The separation only became greater in the second half as the North Stars limited Kaneland to its third consecutive quarter without reaching double digits.

Callaghan had the last of his 10 points on a reverse layup to give Charles North a 49-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

St. Charles North center Griffin Hammer had 8 points.

"It was amazing," Hammer said. "I couldn't be happier. I never want to leave here. We were getting up and down the court. It seemed like the other team wasn't as conditioned as us. That helped a lot."

The final quarter was nothing if not entertaining.

With all reserves playing, the North Stars' subs outscored their Kaneland counterparts 21-18.

Kaneland guard Jake Marczuk hit three 3-pointers to lead the Knights' attack with 9 points.

The North Stars' Jarod Karom had 6 of his 9 points in the fourth.