St. Charles North eases past Streamwood

St. Charles North's Anthony Delisi made the most of his Senior Night basketball game against Streamwood Thursday.

Delisi, a 5-foot-10 senior point guard, turned in a scintillating all-around performance with game-high totals of 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals to lead the North Stars (16-6, 7-3) to a 60-39 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over the Sabres (7-21, 0-10) in St. Charles.

"I thought Anthony really asserted himself and played hard on both ends," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "He directed the offense and also forced them (the Sabres) to stop him first. When they didn't, he scored. When they did, he found the open man."

Delisi used his muscular 165-pound frame to penetrate the Sabres' defense, driving and weaving his way through traffic toward the rim.

"When I drive, I just look for the open man," said Delisi, who had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the first half as the North Stars built a 29-22 lead. "If no one is open, I'll take my own.

"As the year has gone on, the more I'm aggressive in the transition (game). The more guys get open because more people collapse."

Fellow senior forwards Nate Bruns (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Ryan Callaghan (7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) combined for 9 third-quarter points as the North Stars extended their lead to 43-29.

"Nate is a heady basketball player," Poulin said of Bruns. "He knows where to be within the offense. I'm happy Nate had a nice Senior Night - and Ryan (Callaghan) and Anthony (Delisi) each came out, did well, and led us.

"They represented this program really well tonight."

Streamwood kept things close throughout the opening half as juniors Phil Cruz (10 points, 9 rebounds) and Lamont Cole (10 points) accounted for 18 of the team's 22 points.

"They always play hard but we can't put it all together for four quarters," said Sabres coach Paul Kowalyszyn. "We had a bad stretch in the second half - it started with an undisciplined play. We threw a behind-the-back pass for a turnover that led to a 3-pointer and then it kind of snowballed into three or four more turnovers. Instead of being within five or six, we were down by 10 to 12."

St. Charles North outscored the Sabres 31-17 in the second half.

"Honestly, we didn't shoot the ball well, either," said Kowalyszyn, whose team shot 33 percent (16 of 48) from the field. "You put it all together and you lose by 20."

Zach Ludwig and Cade Callaghan added 12 points and 8 points, respectively, for the North Stars, who were without junior starting forward Kyle King.

King's older brother, Austin, died in an auto accident Tuesday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the King family," said Poulin.

"I'm really proud to be a part of this family - the basketball family that we have because these kids have shown incredible maturity and have been there for Kyle and for each other."