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St. Charles North rebounds with one-sided win over Jacobs

The St. Charles North boys basketball players had more bounce in their step in a 58-36 bounce-back win at Jacobs Tuesday.

North coach Tom Poulin said his team got the pregame message about playing with intensity and a high energy level, both of which he called "nonexistent" in Monday's 12-point loss to Libertyville.

St. Charles North (14-4) was the aggressor against Jacobs (11-8), which lost its third game in four tries. North closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 20-9 lead, which ballooned to 30-11 by halftime.

"I thought we played with a championship energy," Poulin said. "That's just what we were talking about, that quickness defensively and the communication."

Senior guard Luke Scheffers contributed 7 of his 13 points during the first-quarter run, including a transition 3-pointer assisted by senior guard Christian Czerniak. Each finished with 5 assists.

"Coach really emphasized making the extra pass like how we've done all season, so we came out with no personal thoughts," Czerniak said. "We just said make the right reads. Whoever is open, throw them the ball."

"We just tried to come back and play unselfishly," Scheffers said.

St. Charles North senior Connor Linke was a force throughout. The 6-foot-9 center committed to Bradley finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.

"This was very important," Linke said of the nonconference win. "You can't get into a slump halfway through the season."

Little went right for Jacobs in the first half. The Golden Eagles committed 7 turnovers, missed 8 of 9 attempts from 3-point range and lost the rebounding battle 18-7.

"We didn't make shots early and that's part of it," Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts said. "When you play a good team, you have to score the basketball, especially a team like them with (Scheffers). If you don't score it on your end and they're able to go on the offensive end, they have guards that are very good at distributing it."

Unlike in the Libertyville loss, St. Charles North made shots. The North Stars connected on 22 of 45 field-goal attempts. Six players sank a 3-pointer as the visitors drained 9 of 18 from beyond the arc. Senior guard Colin Nelson led the way with four 3-pointers in 7 attempts.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Senior guard Andrew Balkcom paced Jacobs with 10 points. Senior guard Jaden Henderson was limited to 9 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

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