PONTIAC — There were some anxious moments for the St. Charles North boys basketball team in the last 22 seconds Friday afternoon, but the North Stars have a trophy from arguably the best holiday tournament in the state.
The North Stars scored 17 of the first 20 points of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament consolation championship, but had to hold for dear life in the waning moments.
Lockport had three opportunities to tie the game or potentially take the lead, but the North Stars dodged all obstacles with their 51-49 victory.
It was the third consecutive 2-point victory at the tournament for St. Charles North (11-2).
“It means a lot,” St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said of bringing home a trophy. “There are a lot of good 0-2 teams going home with nothing. There are incredible teams (Bloomington, Oak Park-River Forest, Joliet West and defending Class 4A state champion Curie) playing for fifth place. It’s a big deal.”
Lockport (6-6) staged an impressive rally to close within 31-29 at the break.
The Porters were particularly effective with their inside-outside attack.
Matt Smietanski forged the first tie of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter. But the North Stars’ Brendan Dal Degan had an ideal remedy for St. Charles North.
On three consecutive possessions, Dal Degan hit baseline-left 3-pointers. The 9-point run gave St. Charles North a 46-39 lead.
“We are going to battle, no matter what the score is,” Dal Degan said. “My teammates were finding me open, and I was launching them.”
“It was huge,” Poulin said of the three straight Deldegan field goals from beyond the arc. “They kept us in the game. The momentum was on their side. We were having a hard time stopping them. When they got the lead I was happy with the leadership.”
Luke Scheffers’ 3-pointer and the last of the 12 points Anthony Delisi scored were the only offense St. Charles North could manage in the fourth quarter, but the North Stars’ defense held its own to preserve the win.
Deldegan also scored 12 points to tie Delisi for team scoring honors.
Eric Larsen hit three of the North Stars’ 11 3-pointers in scoring 11 points.
John Meyer led both teams with 17 points.
“We definitely weren’t prepared, especially in the first quarter,” the Lockport post said.
West Aurora was eliminated from the field by Lockport in the second consolation semifinal on Friday morning.
The Blackhawks (8-4) were led by the game-high 22 points Cameron Donatlan posted in the 56-52 loss.
Jared Crutcher, the Blackhawks’ leading scorer for the tournament, added 15.
Perimeter shooting was a major issue for West Aurora as the team missed all 11 of its 3-point field-goal attempts.
