Boys Basketball: Zion-Benton overcomes slow start, downs St Charles North

Updated: December 20, 2011 9:54PM

The first half couldn’t have gone much better for St. Charles North against Zion-Benton at the Jacobs Holiday Classic on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the North Stars, they were unable to keep it up in the second half and fell to Z-B 60-51.

St. Charles North (4-8) got off to a very fast start to the game against the Zee-Bees (3-6). The North Stars were getting great looks and converting their shots to take a 35-23 at the break. Z-B made then took control of the game in the third quarter.

Gabriel Ramirez did a great job off the bench for Z-B. Ramirez scored a quick five points in the third quarter that really turned things in the Zee-Bees’ favor. After trailing by 12 points at the half, Z-B was able to tie the game at the end of the third quarter thanks to a 22-10 advantage over the North Stars.

Zion-Benton continued the momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring a quick seven points, and the North Stars weren’t able to get on the scoreboard for almost five minutes in the fourth quarter. Z-B converted their free throws and held on.

“Zion-Benton picked up the pressure in the second half and we weren’t able to handle it,” said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. “We didn’t play team basketball and that cost us. We’ve played well in this tournament and just need to build on that.”

St. Charles North was led by Kyle Nelson, who scored 21 points. Quinten Payne added 19 for the North Stars.

Barrington 55, Jacobs 54

The game of basketball can be both rewarding yet cruel. There’s no better example of this than the contest Tuesday between the host team and Barrington.

Jacobs dominated most of the game before falling to Barrington.

With 1:39 left in the game, Jacobs’ lead was at three points and the game would come down to the free throw line. The Broncos cut the lead to one with under a minute left and missed a layup to take the lead. The Broncos would get another shot though after another Jacobs turnover and foul, and was able to take the lead for good with eight seconds left and hold on for a one point win.

Barrington (10-3) outplayed the Eagles (1-7) in the first quarter, but only held a four-point lead. The Golden Eagles struggled against the Broncos press, which forced several turnovers and also forced Jacobs to use three timeouts early in the game.

Jacobs picked up its play in the second quarter, but was still turning the ball over way too much and trailed Barrington 27-22 at the half.

The lead wouldn’t last long though as Barrington struggled to start the second half and began turning the ball over and missing shots. Jacobs started the half on a 9-0 run and outscored the Broncos 16-4 in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter continued to be hot for the host Golden Eagles. When Barrington hit a shot, Jacobs seemed to answer. Turnovers were still haunting Jacobs and really was the only thing keeping the Broncos close.

“Turnovers killed us today,” said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle. “I was happy with most aspects of the game and how the kids played, I’m just very disappointed with the final outcome.”

Jacobs was led by junior Nick Ledinsky, who scored 26 points. Will Schwerdtmann added 14 for the Golden Eagles.

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