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Kaneland surges past St. Charles North

While one team continues to build confidence, another is searching for answers.

Kaneland (9-6) jumped out to a 14-0 lead through the first 3 ½ minutes and never looked back, handing St. Charles North a 57-42 nonconference boys basketball defeat Tuesday night in St. Charles.

Senior forward Ryan David led the early charge, going on a personal 11-point scoring binge before teammate Ethan Conroy's 3-pointer from the top of the key completed the unanswered surge.

"It was nice to get out and set the tone right away and be able to come out and hit our shots," said David, who connected on his first 4 shots, capped by a 3-pointer from the wing. "My teammates were getting me open and finding me with the ball."

The fast start certainly put a smile on the face of Knights coach Joe Conroy.

"I was really thrilled," said Conroy. "Ryan has been struggling a little bit offensively so to have him come out with that kind of confidence to go with the defense he has been playing the last month was really fun to see."

St. Charles North (3-10) pulled within 16-8 after 1 quarter and trailed 27-20 late in the second quarter before missing 4 consecutive free throws that could have narrowed the deficit.

Mitchel Groen's 3-point play off a feed from Garrett Hukle enabled the Knights to extend their lead back to double digits at 30-20 at the half.

Groen, a 6-3 senior, provided toughness off the bench with 9 points and 4 rebounds while combining with junior reserve guard Jake Hed (6 points) and Hukle (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).

"He's just physically strong," Conroy said of Groen. "I think that's one of the advantages we had. They had one big on the floor most of the game where we put two out there."

After making just 4 of 20 (20 percent) first-half shots, the North Stars fought back within 4 at 34-30 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Armon Osborne and Mikey Schroeder (11 points).

However, the North Stars didn't make another basket for more than 10 minutes as they fell behind 43-33 after 3 quarters.

"We're having a hard time scoring in transition and in the half-court," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "We're not real difficult to guard right now."

Dylan Vaca added 7 points for the Knights, who made 25 of their 29 free-throw attempts in a foul-plagued affair.

"That has been a struggle for us lately," said Conroy. "We've lost tight games where (missed) free throws really hurt us down the stretch. What I thought was really cool was to watch guys come in off the bench and make free throws (11 of 13)."

Anthony Delisi finished with 8 points for the North Stars, who shot 23 percent (9 of 40) for the game.

"We still have a lot of work to do," admitted Poulin. "We're back to the drawing board."

Images: St. Charles North vs. Kaneland boys basketball

  Kaneland's Mitchel Groen tries to block a shot by St. Charles North's Griffin Hammer Tuesday in St. Charles. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Kaneland's Garrett Hukle tries to get a shot as St. Charles North's Griffin Hammer defends Tuesday in St. Charles. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Kaneland's Ethan Conroy defends St. Charles North's Armon Osborne Tuesday in St. Charles. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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