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Hinsdale Central shoots its way over St. Charles East

Hinsdale Central found the perfect remedy to its mini-slump Wednesday night - hot shooting.

Draining 14 3-pointers, the Red Devils broke a three-game losing streak with a 72-57 victory over St. Charles East in the first round of the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic.

Emerson Eck led the way with 6 of those trifectas and a team-high 22 points.

"It actually started with our defense," Eck said. "It wasn't so much about our offense. We had to bear down defensively. During our losing streak, we haven't been doing that. And with that comes our offense.

"That was a great team win. We have a really deep team this year and everyone contributed to this game. It was great to get everyone involved."

Leading 27-25 at halftime, Eck hit a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter as the margin was extended to 7 heading into the fourth. Hinsdale Central (6-4), which only made 7 2-pointers in the contest, then closed out the game at the charity stripe, making 15 free throws over the final eight minutes.

"We have such a good team and it's a super competitive team," said senior Jake Quast, who finished with 11 points. "We have a bunch of guys who can play and it's so much fun playing with these guys.

"We just have to keep playing good defense. When our defense gets going, it opens up everything else for us."

The Saints (0-10) gave the Red Devils all they could handle, knocking down 11 shots from beyond the arc as well. Trent Warren had 7 of those and scored a game-high 28 points. Raul Gor came off the bench and added 17 points and 8 rebounds.

St. Charles East led by as many as five at 19-14 in the second quarter.

"We are trying to get better," St. Charles East coach Patrick Woods said. "The kids are working really hard and I loved how they didn't give up at the end. Hinsdale Central is a good team in a good conference and we are in a good tournament.

"We've got guys who play hard. We just have to limit second chance points and our turnovers."

Hinsdale Central did have 12 offensive rebounds, 8 by Chase Collignon, who tallied 8 points and 13 rebounds. Evan Phillips contributed 12 points and Ben Oosterbaan had 9. All in all, nine different Red Devils entered into the scoring column.

"They were in a zone and that's what they were kind of giving up," said Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre about his team's long-range shooting success. "And we had the right guys shooting it tonight. I also thought we did a good job on the offensive glass. But give them (St. Charles East) credit, they kept hanging in there. Their two kids really shot it well."

Hinsdale Central's Chase Collignon (center) looks for an opening during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game against St. Charles East on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
Hinsdale Central's Noah Block (11) shoots the ball during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game against St. Charles East on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Gavin Sitarz (5) tries to get past Hinsdale Central defender Evan Phillips during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Raul Gor (left) and Hinsdale Central's Benjamin Oosterbaan (12) go after a rebound during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Michael Weaver dribbles the ball during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game against Hinsdale Central on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
Hinsdale Central's Chase Collignon (center) looks for an opening during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game against St. Charles East on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Trent Warren looks to pass the ball during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game against Hinsdale Central on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
St. Charles East's Eddie Herrera (22) drives toward the basket as Hinsdale Central's Jake Quest grabs the ball during a 2021 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic game on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
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