St. Charles North responds after ugly 1st half
St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin must have pulled off some magic at halftime on Friday night because the team that came out of the North Stars locker room in the second half didn't at all resemble the team that had just played possibly their worst half of basketball all season.
The North Stars trailed 19-8 at halftime, but an 18-1 run in the fourth quarter propelled them to a 44-36 win over visiting Batavia in DuKane Conference action.
"The main thing I asked for was more intensity," Poulin said. "I felt we were going through the motions in the first. You can't be doing that at this time of the season because in another week when the playoffs begin it could end your season. But the way we came out in the second kind of sums up our season. This team doesn't stay down. They get back up and keep fighting."
The North Stars shot a dismal 3 of 19 (16 percent) from the field in the first half, but when Tyler Czerniak opened the second half by sinking a 3-pointer the tide began to shift.
"That shot seem to give us some hope that maybe we could turn it around," Poulin said. "Our main focus was just winning the third quarter to get things going our way and that got us off to a good start."
The North Stars (11-14, 5-8) continued to find their footing in the third quarter as they outscored the Bulldogs 14-11 to trim the lead to 30-22. A big key was getting their 6-foot-9 center Connor Linke more involved. After being held to just 2 points in the first half Linke had a couple of buckets in the post and a free throw in the third quarter.
"Just the threat of playing more through him makes everyone around him better and makes it tougher on other teams," Poulin said. "For us every thing begins with establishing that inside presence."
In the forth quarter it was Linke scoring a pair of free throws on back-to-back trips down the court that sparked the North Stars' 18-1 run.
"That first half was probably our worst half of the season," Linke said. "Coach wasn't like mad, but more upset and frustrated with the effort. We came out with a lot more energy and intensity."
Linke finished with a team-high 13 points. Lucas Heflen added 11 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that tied the game at 32-32 with 4:30 left to play. Heflen had 2 more baskets down the stretch to help the North Stars pull away.
"We started getting the ball inside and playing inside out," Heflen said. "Once things start going your way every thing seems to get easier and shots start falling."
Batavia (11-17, 4-9) was plagued by 19 turnovers. Jayden Johnson had a team-high 14 points.
"We did a lot of good things in the first half that we just didn't keep doing in the second half," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "You can't keep giving a team like North extra possessions and opportunities."