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St. Charles North holds off Larkin

Things got a bit sloppy at times, and the game at times had the feel of a spring training game with both coaches going deep into their benches, but what mattered most for both teams was just being on the court against an actual opponent.

St. Charles North closed the game on a 15-4 run to defeat Larkin, 59-49, in the long-delayed boys basketball season opener for both teams.

The players were even happy to see referees on the court.

"It's amazing, just being able to play against real competition with refs in a real game, even if there's no fan," said St. Charles North's Max Love, who led the North Stars with 14 points. "Just being able to be coached feels good because he can call out what you're doing wrong and it's nice to know what you can work on. And it's fun just to fix it in-game when he calls it out."

"There's a spirit, an energy in the gym just for practices from day one," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "And then being able to play a game just amps it up even further."

The Royals took their first lead since 3-2 on a layup by Jamarion Stubbs early in the fourth quarter as Larkin slowly clawed its way back from a 15-point deficit. But the Royals couldn't finish off the visitors from St. Charles.

Larkin had a chance to extend the lead but Love blocked 2 shots on one possession and the Royals eventually turned it over. An old-fashioned 3-point play by Ethan Marlowe at the other end put the North Stars ahead to stay.

"[Poulin] told us to stay calm, that we can handle them," Love said. "We've just got to handle their pressure and box out. If we play our game we're going to win. We just can't let them get second-chance points."

Marlowe finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jude Love added 11 points for St. Charles North.

Fernando Perez led all scorers with 17 points for Larkin while pulling down 9 rebounds. Damari Wheeler-Thomas added 10 points, all in the second quarter for the Royals.

But the score didn't matter as much as the sense of normalcy that comes from just being on the court opposite a team wearing different colors.

"Maybe as crazy as it sounds, it was maybe a little more normal than I thought," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. There was practice, chaos, all this stuff going on, but once that ball was inbounded and the game started it was back to normal a little. It felt great."

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