Marco Klebosits helps St. Charles East to win over St. Charles North

ST. CHARLES – Marco Klebosits scored a game-high 19 points with 10 rebounds and three steals to help lift St. Charles East (14-12, 5-6) to a 56-51 DuKane Conference victory over visiting St. Charles North (6-19, 1-10) Friday night.

Klebosits, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, came up big down the stretch as the Saints withstood a late comeback from the North Stars.

After St. Charles North pulled within 48-47 on a steal and layup by Cooper Mellican (nine points) with 2:20 left, Klebosits knocked down a pair free throws before delivering a pass to teammate Andrew Wolfsmith (nine points) for a two-handed dunk that extended the Saints’ lead to 52-47 with 1:25 remaining.

“Marco played incredibly well — driving and finishing,” Saints coach Rob Klemm said of Klebosits, who scored seven of his 11 first half points in the second quarter during the team’s 20-12 surge while providing solid defense.

“He has been playing great defense — that’s an underappreciated part of his game. He has been playing fantastic defense for us, facing a lot of different matchups. He’s very versatile. He has that guard mentality from when he was a sophomore. He’s learning how to use his length to his advantage.”

Gavin Szerlong (seven points) and Reese Dumpit (five points) each hit a pair of free throws in the final 1:08 for the Saints, who earned their first homecourt win over the North Stars since 2019.

“We hadn’t won a HardyStrong game (foundation honoring former Saints standout Justin Hardy, who passed away from stomach cancer in 2022), so I’m really proud of the way the guys didn’t get rattled in that moment and continued to play,” Klemm said.

St. Charles North built an early 8-2 lead, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from senior guard Auggie Hoffman (six points, five rebounds).

“We knew they were going to come out fighting,” Klebosits said of the North Stars. “There’s nothing more that they wanted to do tonight than beat us. We all came together. It was a team effort.”

“We told the guys before the game that it was entirely possible they (North Stars) come out there and knock down a couple 3s,” Klemm said. “They’re more than capable. North has been playing some good basketball. They’ve been competitive in every game.”

Sam Tisch (seven rebounds, three assists) and Michael Hill added six points apiece as the Saints won for the fifth time in six games while sweeping the season series from the North Stars.

“The Hardy game is very special,” Klebosits said. “The win is more meaningful for us because we got swept last year.”

Junior Braden Harms came off the bench to pace the North Stars with 15 points, while teammate Jake Love added 11 points. Camden Vine finished with eight points and five rebounds.

“We continue to do some things in winning time that hurt us,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “There’s a stretch in every game where somebody makes a run and we contribute to it, and then we battle back from that point. That’s on me to try and fix that.

“I still believe we’re a tough out. We just have to get over that hump. It’s going to take a game where people tell you you’re not going to win — that you win. That’s what we need.”

Poulin also added some perspective.

“We are honored to be included in an evening that recognizes and remembers Justin Hardy,” he said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250207/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-klebosits-powers-st-charles-east-over-st-charles-north-with-key-plays-late/