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Bloomington denies St. Charles North 5th at Pontiac

PONTIAC - Patrick Fisher was not in the holiday spirit to the St. Charles North and West Aurora boys basketball teams on Saturday.

A senior guard from reigning Class 3A third-place Bloomington, Fisher ended the West Aurora stay at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament with a 15-foot jumper with one second remaining to lift the Raiders to a 78-76 victory in the first fifth-place semifinal game.

St. Charles North earned its first win in program history over Benet, a 49-39 verdict, in the other semifinal.

But in the fifth-place game, Fisher scored 8 consecutive points to erase the final tie at 16-16 as part of a 27-8 Bloomington run bridging the first two quarters.

The Raiders never looked back in claiming a 59-40 victory over the North Stars behind the game-high 27 points Fisher accumulated.

"That same thing has been happening down here," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said of the Raiders' explosive run to close the first half that left the North Stars trailing 33-19 at the break. "We have dry spells. We have to put a full game together."

Kyle King was the soul of the North Stars for their four-game run at the prestigious tournament.

The senior post scored a team-high 18 points and hauled down 9 rebounds against Bloomington.

In the North Stars' 10-point win over Benet (9-4), King played the starring role in the final stages of the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 36-all, King had consecutive inside scores.

On the ensuing possession, King fed Cade Callaghan with a perfect pass for an easy score.

When Callaghan rebounded his own miss for yet another field goal and added 2 free throws moments later, the North Stars' 10-point run in five straight trips was the difference.

"They are very disciplined," King said of Benet. "We were able to get some back cuts. Inside-out is our game."

"We did a much better job (against Benet) boxing out in the fourth quarter," Poulin said. "I thought that was the difference."

St. Charles North is 9-5.

"To be playing in the evening on the third day at Pontiac is an accomplishment," Poulin said. "We will definitely be a better team because of Pontiac."

West Aurora had designs of being in the fifth-place game dashed by Fisher.

It was not for a lack of effort from Camron Donatlan, Damian Virgen and Traevon Brown.

Donatlan flirted with a triple-double for the Blackhawks with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

Virgen matched the 20 points his senior classmate authored.

Brown scored 17 points on five 3-pointers and a driving layup.

West Aurora (8-4) and Bloomington (11-3) broke a tournament record with 21 made 3-pointers.

The Blackhawks were seemingly in cruise control with a 13-point lead in the third quarter.

But Bloomington stormed back as Fabian Brown (24) and Fisher (19) combined for 43 points.

"It was a recipe for a loss," West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. "We didn't get stops. We turned the ball over too much. You don't want to be in that position."

"We were gambling too much (on defense)," Donatlan said.

"I shot at the elbow (for the game-winner)," Fisher said. "That's my sweet spot."

"We only won two categories: the final score and free throws," Bloomington coach Micheal Mosley said. "(Made free throws, 16-3 for Bloomington) were the difference."

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