St. Charles East handles Galesburg
Wade Kyle is trying to make the most of his second chance in the starting lineup for St. Charles East's boys basketball team.
The 6-foot-5 senior forward connected on a pair of 3-pointers to close out the first half and then helped fuel a 10-0 run over the final 2:25 of the third quarter by hitting a short baseline jumper as the Saints (15-7) pulled away for a 61-46 nonconference triumph over Galesburg (15-12) Saturday night in St. Charles.
"At the beginning of the season, I had a couple opportunities to start and in my opinion I kind of blew it," said Kyle, who finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. "I knew I had to get back in the gym - it was more on me."
A few moments after Silver Streaks senior guard Deandre Moren (13 points) drained a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 22-22, Kyle knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 1:19 as the Saints grabbed a 28-25 halftime advantage.
"Wade played some great minutes," said Saints coach Patrick Woods. "He has been working real hard. When he has his confidence, he's as good a shooter as anyone on our team with 3s."
According to Kyle, confidence is the key word.
"The more shots you get up from the corner and the top of the key, the more you start making them," said Kyle. "You start feeling more confident and you start taking more shots."
St. Charles East stretched a 5-point lead into a 45-30 advantage after 3 quarters with its 10-0 run that also included 4 points from sophomore guard Charles Murphy (7 points, 3 assists) and a bucket inside by junior forward Justin Hardy (15 points, 10 rebounds).
Sophomore guard Nate Ortiz scored 7 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for the Saints, while senior guard Zach Mitchell added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
"We didn't shoot the ball well but I thought our energy was good," said Woods. "I thought we played the way we wanted to play - fast."
T.J. Pendleton had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Galesburg, which shot 35 percent (19 of 54) from the field.
The Saints split their 2 games against downstate foes on back-to-back Saturdays, having lost to Alton 56-53 last weekend in Galesburg.
"Last year after our player evaluations, each kid said that we need to go back to Galesburg," said Woods. Woods recalled his own childhood visits to Galesburg.
"When I was a youngster, I used to go down to the Milwaukee Bucks summer camp at Knox College (in Galesburg)," he said. "Their AD at the time was Harley Knosher. My mom would drop me off at the Amtrak station. He would pick me up and I'd stay there for a week at basketball camp.
"I ran into Harley Knosher at a shootout in the summer - his grandson played for Galesburg last year. It's crazy how it could go back so long ago and still all tie together through the game of basketball."