5 Takeaways: St. Francis Regional Semis

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the snowstorm through northern Illinois there were quite a few regional semis pushed back because of the weather.&nbsp; That created an opportunity for some unexpected games on Thursday night.&nbsp; We took in the action from St. Francis where Burlington Central Catholic took on Cary Grove and host St. Francis played Wauconda.&nbsp; Check out our thoughts in <strong>5 Takeaways: St. Francis Regional Semis</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Scharnowski Shows Out in Second Half of Burlington Central Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a slow start for Belmont commit [player_tooltip player_id='1476085' first='Drew' last='Scharnowski'], but man did he turn it up a notch in the second half.  The top 25 senior is a skilled face up four that only had 3 points at the half.  In the second stanza he showed off his athleticism throwing down several dunks including spiking one with his left hand like I've not ever quite seen before.  Finishes well around the basket and had a nice and-1 to begin the half.  Was impressed with his passing feel as well for a big man as he had 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Nicholas Gouriotis stepped up for Burlington Central in the 62-39 win over Cary Grove.  Undersized and strong bodied senior scored layup after layup carving out space and being right there for dump off passes time after time netting 20 points.  Sophomore Jacob Johnson is a wing to watch as he has good size and skill finishing with 10 points.  Guards [player_tooltip player_id='2724420' first='Caden' last='West'] (7 points), Matthew Lemon (5 points), and Nolan Milas (5 points) all contributed to the win.  Their defense was excellent particularly in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Young Guards Emerge for Cary Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First look at Cary Grove this season.&nbsp; Despite the loss a couple of young guards caught our attention.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1792039' first='Jake' last='Hornok'] is a creative lead guard that has some scoring pop as he went for 12 points.&nbsp; Spike Boyd lit up the gym in the second half with his shooting.&nbsp; The small sophomore point guard drained a few super deep ones while scoring 13 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carlsen With Eye Popping Opening Round Performance</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a show Wauconda 6'4” forward [player_tooltip player_id='1541246' first='Braeden' last='Carlsen'] put on in their 74-52 win over Wheaton St. Francis on Thursday night.  Strong bodied combo forward went to work for a massive 31 point outing.  He scored from all three levels.  Posting up sealing off his man, efficient layup maker, threes, and got to the charity stripe.  Just willed his team all night long.  Showed throughout the game he could handle it and had some playmaking flair to his game as a passer playing with a high basketball IQ.  Definitely on our radar for a boost in next rankings update!  Early in the game it was the Tyler Tylka show as he drained three after three to get his team off to a fast start.  Quick and concise release finishing with 15 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sophomore St. Francis Guard One to Monitor</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liked what we saw from St. Francis point guard Niko Quaranta.&nbsp; The 5'10” 2025 is a fun player that can shoot it and brings a spark to his team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quick Turnaround</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The winners of these two games Burlington Central and Wauconda will have a very quick turnaround as they now play tomorrow night in the regional semi.&nbsp; Should be a fun matchup especially between Scharnowski and Carlsen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->