advertisement

St. Charles East knocks off Foreman

St. Charles East's boys basketball team appears to be heading into the postseason with momentum on its side.

Playing on his home court for the last time, 6-foot 5 forward Justin Hardy came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a pair of steals during the Saints' 61-47 nonconference victory over Foreman Friday night in St. Charles.

Hardy, a 4-year varsity player, found himself in the rare position as a reserve during the Saints' Senior Night - with starting spots going to fellow seniors Mickey Babb, Alec Champine, Jude Clodi, Zac Matheny and Zach Robinson.

"This is an unusual Senior Night because in the past it a lot of time it has been a conference game and we would have gone with our regular lineup," said Saints coach Patrick Woods, who has guided his teams to 5 consecutive 18-win seasons.

"Tonight, we went with a senior lineup. I think those guys deserve it. I'm happy we did and I'm happy we won."

The Saints (18-9) jumped out to a 14-3 first-quarter lead as all 6 seniors made baskets, including 3-pointers from Clodi and Robinson.

However, Foreman (14-11) came back with 13 unanswered points to tie the score at 18-18 midway through the second quarter before the Saints closed out the half on a 9-4 surge to grab a 27-22 lead at the intermission.

Hardy delivered a pair of right-hand tomahawk dunks in the third quarter as the Saints opened a 48-39 lead.

"In the second half, we got loose in transition and we got some easy baskets," said Hardy. "It's fun playing that way. Everyone wants a breakaway dunk. It's a good team booster and fun for me."

After the Hornets cut the deficit to 3 at 48-45 early in the fourth quarter, the Saints sealed the victory with a 13-2 late run that included a pair of 3-point baskets by Clodi (12 points).

"We shot 50 percent from the field, we out-rebounded them and we had 20 assists," said Woods. "All in all, it was a great night."

Robinson finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists for the Saints, winners of 8 of their last 10.

"It means a lot to me here but more important is playing in front of all our fans," said Hardy, who scored 10 third-quarter points. "That's what I'm going to miss most about playing here and playing high school basketball - the great atmosphere with my best friends cheering in the crowd."

"He has been a monster from start to finish," Woods said of Hardy. "He has made a huge impact on our program."

St. Charles East, which suffered a first-round loss to Bartlett a year ago, begins Class 4A regional tournament action against either Dundee-Crown or Hampshire Wednesday in Carpentersville.

"We have to be better on Wednesday," said Woods. "They're hungry. We don't want to have a repeat of what happened last year."

"We're right where we want to be," said Hardy. "Our guys are really motivated for this because we're not going out like that."

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.