MCCLUER NORTH BREAKS THROUGH

There was as much excitement as there was relief in Trevor Laney's voice. McCluer North's coach, Laney was downright joyous two days after the Stars survived Monday's 84-82 overtime victory at rival Hazelwood Central.

“Finally, we got one,” Laney said.

Sophomore Patrick Evans put back a rebound with less than a second remaining in the extra period to give the Stars a hard-fought road win.

It's a nice reward for a team that has had its share of hard nights. North's schedule has put it through the ringer. North (11-11) has lost to No. 1 large school Edwardsville, No. 8 large school Belleville East, O'Fallon, No. 5 small school Jennings, No. 7 small school Alton Marquette, No. 9 large school McCluer and split with No. 8 small school Cardinal Ritter.

That's a strong slate for any program much less one that has several sophomore guards playing major minutes.

“We've played an insanely hard schedule,” Laney said.

One thing that kept the Stars focused on the end result was pride. They want to be the best team in North County. Even with a record that's not so pretty they still have a shot at the top seed in the Class 5 District 3 Tournament at North.

North's 59-52 loss at McCluer on Feb. 9 may have kept it from its hope of regional dominance, but Monday's win at Central keeps the fire alive for the No. 1 seed. The Stars were slated to play at Pattonville on Wednesday night. A win and the Stars would claim wins over the other two top contenders for the top seed.

North was on the verge of taking out McCluer, but the senior-dominated Comets prevailed in the fourth quarter. Laney didn't know how his team would react to letting another close game get away. He wondered how the Stars would be headed into Monday's rivalry game at Central.

North answered those questions from the jump ball.

“I thought the McCluer game might set us back,” Laney said. “I was so surprised. The next day at practice they didn't focus on that. They were focused on the Central game. They used (the loss) to tighten things up.”

Like so many nip-and-tuck rivalry games there are any number of plays that make an impact in the result. But the most obvious was Evans's game-winning put back. The Stars got a high percentage shot inside of six feet that didn't fall and Evans was there to clean it up and give them the win.

“He didn't give up on the play. He didn't stand around at the 3-point line like a lot of kids do,” Laney said. “He flew in there and got it. That's the difference between a great win and a tough loss.”

Evans has been good for the Stars all season. Post players Cameron Lockett and Jacoby Jones have provided toughness in the paint and good senior leadership. Laney likes his team to play inside out with its two bigs.

Sophomore guard Tay Butler returned to the lineup at the start of the second semester and has provided a scoring burst that has solidified the Stars rotation. He's averaging about 12 points per game. Senior point guard Keion McGuire runs the show and gets the Stars into their offense. Sophomore guard Mekai Ray is a spark plug. The 5-foot-5 Ray plays at 100 miles per hour which can be deadly for opponents or his own team. If the Stars have an Achilles heel its turnovers. When North struggles it's often because it gives the ball away.

“We're a high turnover team. If we don't turn it over, we're pretty good,” Laney said.

The Stars have been solid defensively. They've held 14 opponents to 60 or fewer points. If North can hold on to the ball and not make itself play defense for long stretches, the Stars will be tough to beat when district play begins next week.

“We're a good defensive team,” Laney said. “When you can defend, you're never out of it.”