O'Fallon Christian Stays Unbeaten, Sends St. Charles to second Loss This Week

Adam Glenville is on a quest to take the O'Fallon Christian boys basketball team to new heights.

On Friday the 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior forward garnered praise from St. Charles coach Rick Foster, whose team lost 74-64 to the visiting Eagles in a non-conference contest.

"The Glenville kid is probably one of the better players in the area this year," Foster said.

Glenville poured in a game-high 27 points against the Pirates - seven points above his season average in leading Christian to its fifth win to start the season. He helped the Eagles turn a 12-point, first-quarter deficit into a 16-point lead by the fourth and scored 10 points in the final stanza to quell a St. Charles comeback bid.

"Adam's really taken on the mentality of leading this team," Christian coach Dave Meers said. "He's taken the bull by the horns in terms of making sure guys are ready to play. It's just in his nature. He's been our leading scorer for the last two years and I think this year he has more sense of urgency because he's a senior."

But Glenville wants people to know that the Eagles are not a one-man show. Sophomore Deantrell Prince, a standout wide receiver on the football field, is becoming a solid No. 2 scoring option. On Friday he finished with 16 points and drained all 10 of his free-throw attempts while five other Christian players contributed points, some coming at key moments, in the win.

"We're a multi-dimensional team and that takes a lot of pressure off not only me but the other scorers too," Glenville said. "I couldn't do it without my teammates. They get me the ball and help me be able to score."

The Eagles sputtered early and allowed St. Charles to take a 23-11 lead on a 3-pointer by freshman Chase Morfeld in the closing seconds of the first quarter.

"I think starting off we were a little complacent as far as our defense," Meers said. "We knew (St. Charles) had good shooters but I don't think our guys registered their shooters were as good as they were."

Bit by bit, Christian clawed its way back. Brendan Norwine sunk a trey from the corner with 3 minutes, 33 seconds left in the second quarter, sparking an 8-0 Eagles run. They cut St. Charles' lead to 35-30 by halftime.

A layup from Glenville with 4:05 left in the third tied the game at 40 and moments later Christian took the lead for good on a free throw from Robbie Bone.

Midway through the fourth, Christian's lead ballooned to 64-48 but St. Charles showed it still had some fight left. Behind a scoring surge from Korey Teson and Morfeld, the Pirates scored 14 of the next 18 points to get to within six at 68-62 with 1:36 to play.

But that's where the run ended, as St. Charles turned the ball over with a costly traveling violation and lost its chance to make it a one-possession game.

"We got to within six and got a rebound there and walked with it," Foster said. "It would have put us in a great spot. But our guys didn't give up."

Korey Haulcy, Tim Evans, Teson and Morfeld had 13 points apiece for St. Charles while Corey Whiteside added 12 against Christian. The Pirates (4-2) had won four straight contests to open their season before losing consecutive games this week to Westminster and Christian.

Christian (5-0) will have a quick turnaround, as the Eagles will open Saturday's slate of games at the Midwest Showdown Shootout at Lindenwood University with an 11:30 a.m. tipoff against Hazelwood West.

"After a game like tonight where we really had to work hard and scrap our way back, hopefully we have enough left in the tank to finish out tomorrow and get past the tough pressure they'll give us," Meers said.