St. Charles North shakes off losing streak to beat No. 16 Lake Park

St. Charles North’s Luke Scheffers (1) drives toward the basket against Lake Park. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

The North Stars took the lead in the second quarter and escaped with a hard-fought 55-48 win at Lake Park.

St. Charles North was on a two-game losing streak before showing up in Roselle to face Lake Park on Saturday. The North Stars quickly found themselves in an 11-point hole after shooting 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first quarter.

“Most people would think we are doubting ourselves but no,” St. Charles North guard Luke Scheffers said. “We have been here before. We played them last year and we are the same group basically.”

The North Stars took the lead in the second quarter and escaped with a hard-fought 55-48 win against the No. 16 Lancers.

Those two losses came at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. The North Stars lost to Curie by eight points and Simeon by three. That’s anther situation where context is key.

“We played bad and we were in those games and should have won,” Scheffers said. “That made us know who we are, who we can compete with and what we are capable of. It just gave us confidence coming in to this game.”

Scheffers made the three in the second quarter that ended the North Stars’ funk. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Christian Czerniak added seven points, including five key free throws to help St. Charles North pull away late in the fourth quarter.

“We just didn’t lose our minds [in the first quarter],” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “I might have on the inside. Teams aren’t scoring many points against us but most are coming in the first quarter. We were getting good looks and had good shooters missing open shots.”

Trevor Montiel and Luke Sgarbossa are Lake Park’s top players. The two seniors are smart crafty and both are capable of scoring on the perimeter or in the post. The Lancers won the prestigious Pekin Holiday Tournament last week.

Montiel scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds for Lake Park (13-2, 3-1 DuKane). St. Charles North managed to contain Sgarbossa a bit. He finished with 15 points.

“It was just team defense on [Sgarbossa],” Poulin said. “I told [Sgarbossa and Montiel] in the handshake line they are two of my favorite players to watch. That’s a very good basketball team, they are not going to beat themselves.”

Nick DeMarco scored 11 off the bench for the North Stars (11-3, 4-0) and Connor Linke, a 6-9 Bradley recruit, added nine points and 11 rebounds.

“We had to come in here and be tougher,” Poulin said. “They are very tough and disciplined and well-coached. The first quarter kind of concerned me because they play well with a lead. That’s the type of team you don’t want to get behind. I’m proud of our guys. We were tough tonight.”

Linke is a consistent and efficient threat in the post for St. Charles North this season. He’s the reason many expect the North Stars to have a chance to win a supersectional, a rare feat for a St. Charles team.

“I’m just working on my outside shot because I know that is going to be important to have in the college game,” Linke said. “And also improving my defense and post moves. That will set me up really well for the rest of the high school season and in college.”