advertisement

Mitchell's return sparks St. Charles East

His season started with a thud - literally.

During St. Charles East's fourth game of the year, Zach Mitchell landed awkwardly while taking an early charge against Metea Valley at the Saints' annual Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament in late November.

While the Saints won the game, 88-84, they lost the services of their backcourt standout to a broken left wrist.

"I broke it in two places," recalled Mitchell. "It was a clean break."

Mitchell, who sat out for 6 weeks, helped break the hearts of Batavia fans during Friday night's Class 4A regional championship clash in St. Charles.

The 6-foot-3 junior guard poured in a game-high 17 points to lead fifth-seeded St. Charles East (17-12) to a convincing 58-41 victory over Upstate Eight Conference River Division champion Batavia (20-10) - the Saints' first regional title since 2007.

"When it (injury) happened, I was pretty down but I always had faith that I would come back," said Mitchell. "I just stuck with the team."

Admittedly, it took a while for Mitchell to regain his footing when he returned to the court in early January.

"The first two weeks we had a few games and the speed of the game after being out for so long was a little tough," said Mitchell, who was the Saints' starting quarterback on the football team last fall. "By the end of those two weeks, I felt pretty much back to normal."

Saints coach Patrick Woods wasn't surprised with Mitchell's rough early return.

"It's kind of typical with him," said Woods. "Coming off football, he doesn't always have it right away but once the season hits in full stride, he's there.

"It's something you deal with a multisport athlete, which we're fine with because he brings so many other intangibles to the court - his toughness, his composure, his poise. There's so many things that he does for us."

Mitchell did plenty Friday night, jump-starting the Saints out to a 9-0 lead with 7 consecutive points - capped by a 3-pointer from the corner that bounced off the rim three times before finally falling through the net.

"It really boosts your confidence when everything is going in," said Mitchell, who made all 4 of his first-half field-goal attempts along with a free throw as the Saints opened a 28-11 halftime advantage.

After the Bulldogs pulled within 41-26 early in the fourth quarter, Mitchell scored on a hard drive to the rim and added a 3-pointer from the top of the key a few moments later to extend the lead to 48-26 with 4:54 remaining - setting the stage for a wild celebratory scene at the buzzer.

"We're hitting our stride right now," said Mitchell, whose team faces Prairie Ridge (25-3) in Wednesday's sectional semifinals at Rock Valley College. "We have to stick to our game plan, stay tough and we'll see where it takes us."

Images: St. Charles East claims regional title with a 58-41 win over Batavia in boys basketball

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.