Boys Basketball: St Charles North beats crosstown rival

Updated: January 7, 2012 9:26PM

It was the battle of St. Charles Saturday night at St. Charles North.  

St. Charles East and St. Charles North faced off for the second time this season. St. Charles East won the first meeting between the two schools back in November 65-51, but on Saturday St. Charles North gained revenge and won 52-46 in the Upstate Eight River.

St. Charles North (7-11, 3-2) was led by junior Quinten Payne, who had 19 points to lead all scorers.

“This was a great team win,” said Payne. “We played a great defensive game and knocked down foul shots which we normally don’t do. The time off between games allowed us to really prepare for this game and I think it showed in our effort.”

Purdue recruit Kendall Stephens was held scoreless in the first half before getting things going in the second half for St. Charles East (8-5, 3-2). The junior finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Saints played much better in the second half, but couldn’t stop North when they needed to.

“We need to hit shots and we didn’t,” said St. Charles East coach Patrick Woods. “We had a lot of good looks and just couldn’t hit the shots. I felt like we had the momentum in the second half, but settled for quick shots. We are a very young team and need to improve our basketball IQ if we are going to be a successful team.”

St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin credited his reserves for paving the way to victory.

“We came up with a scouting report and used some of our bench guys to execute it in practice,”said Poulin. “Tonight was a huge conference win and keeps us in the hunt.”

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