St. Charles North shows no fear, hands Danville 1st loss
PONTIAC - It is universally considered to be the deepest boys basketball Christmas tournaments in the state.
It also has the distinction of being the first of its kind in the nation.
Thursday morning at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, St. Charles North notched an opening-round upset.
The North Stars were a pair of games under the break-even mark in their matchup against undefeated and state-ranked Danville. But the Vikings are no longer among the unbeaten ranks.
Connor Linke had game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds to power the North Stars to a stunning 62-48 victory over third-seeded Danville.
For the second straight year at the 16-team bracketed tournament St. Charles North will face seven-time state champion and two-time reigning Pontiac champion Simeon in the quarterfinals.
"We came in here not with the record we wanted," Linke said of the North Stars' record, which is now 5-6. "We wanted to upset the brackets. We came in here with a lot of confidence that we could play with these teams here."
The Vikings' leading scorer, senior southpaw sharpshooter Sean Houpt, drained an early 3-pointer to nullify the North Stars' opening bucket by Luke Scheffers from beyond the arc.
It would be the only deadlock of the game.
St. Charles North responded with an 11-2 run and lead 19-10 after the opening quarter.
The closest Danville (11-1) would come for the remainder of the game was at 23-17 midway through the second quarter.
St. Charles North guard Lucas Heflen would convert a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession; Linke scored at the second-quarter buzzer to give St. Charles North a closing 11-3 run and 34-20 cushion at the intermission.
Linke was a defining force the entire game in the interior as Danville did not have a solution for the North Stars' 6-foot-9 post.
"(Linke) can play," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "We're trying to get him to be more assertive. He is as coachable as it comes."
Houpt led the Vikings with 14 points, but St. Charles North led by double digits the entire second half. The North Stars' spread was never less than 13 points.
"A lot of people didn't expect us to win," said Scheffers, who finished with 11 points. "This is what happens when we execute."
Heflen also finished with 11 points for the North Stars.
"We kept pushing and made the lead grow," Heflen said. "We made the free throws at the end."
Simeon defeated Lockport in overtime.
"People certainly didn't think we would be playing Simeon (in the quarterfinals)," Poulin said.
Christian Czerniak and Thomas Kellen added 7 points each for St. Charles North.
"They were just locked in," Danville coach Ted Houpt said of the North Stars.