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Ludwig shines in final St. Charles North home game

Senior guard Jake Ludwig continues to make memories - and St. Charles North's basketball team continues to pile up victories.

Playing in his last home game, Ludwig nearly recorded a triple-double with a game-high 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists while leading the North Stars (18-8, 11-3) to a 54-37 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over Batavia (15-14, 5-9) Wednesday night in St. Charles.

"It was bittersweet because it's the last home game," said Ludwig, who shot 6 of 7 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and made all 5 of his free-throw attempts. "I've had so many memories here with my teammates and coaches. I just wanted to finish strong on the home floor."

Ludwig helped push the early pace as he collected 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists during the North Stars' 15-9 first-quarter surge.

"I thought we got out and pushed the ball early," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "We want to attack early on offense and we want to take what they give us whether it's early or late in the possession.

"Jake did a nice job of forcing the issue and then that opened other things up."

Four consecutive points from 6-7 senior Chasen Peez (9 points, 5 rebounds) enabled the Bulldogs to pull within 23-17 late in the second quarter.

However, the North Stars closed out the first half with a 7-2 spurt, ignited by David Pozna's 3-pointer from the corner, to grab a 30-19 halftime advantage.

"We had some lapses in the first half that can't happen," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos. "St. Charles North is a very good team. They have a lot of nice parts. The lead could have been shrunk there a little bit more at halftime though. Some of the conversion baskets they had weren't contested. That's inexcusable."

Compounding the problem was the fact that the Bulldogs lost the services of junior guard Canaan Coffey to a shoulder injury in the game's first 2 minutes.

Coffey appeared to dislocate his right shoulder while blocking a layup attempt by Michael Schroeder. After a brief stop in the training room, Coffey returned to the bench where he remained throughout wearing a sling and an ice bag.

"That doesn't help but it gives someone else an opportunity," said Nazos. "You never know what's happening with Canaan going on so you've got to be ready to play.

"He separated it about a year and a half ago (playing football) but he hasn't tweaked it since the summer. It's unfortunate for Canaan. We'll see how it is tomorrow."

Coffey's absence didn't help his teammates, who struggled to 25 percent shooting (12 of 47) from the field.

Jacob Roberts paced the Bulldogs with 10 points.

"Defensively, I was really happy but they were a little short-handed with Coffey out," said Poulin. "That allows you to protect the paint."

Sophomore Griffin Hammer finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds for the North Stars while seniors Johnny Davern and Jack Callaghan added 8 and 6 points, respectively.

Callaghan and Ludwig received a standing ovation from the home crowd when Poulin took them out with 1:38 remaining and the North Stars up 54-35.

"They've made a huge impact on the program," said Poulin. "They're two of the better players we've ever had and they're two of the better people we've ever had."

Both teams will now prepare for next week's Class 4A regional tournament at Geneva.

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