Like most players of his caliber, St. Rita senior Charles Matthews can make the game look easy.
The Kentucky-bound guard was able to score at will most of the night Saturday against Fenwick, leading the Mustangs to a 59-40 Chicago Catholic crossover victory in Oak Park.
The star guard finished with 28 points, with most of his baskets coming on mid-range jumpers or by getting past a defender on the way to the basket.
“It was pretty easy out there,” Matthews said. “But I have great teammates, so that takes a lot of pressure off me, as well.”
St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare was just as impressed with Matthews on the defensive end of the floor.
“He does a lot of great things on the court. Unfortunately when he does not score, people do not think that he plays well,” DeCesare said. “I needed him to defend Mike Smith [tonight], and use his length to keep him out of the lane. He did a phenomenal job doing that.
“He does whatever we ask him to do, that is what makes him such a great player.”
Matthews rose to the challenge of stopping the Friars’ standout guard. He limited Smith to 10 points, including none in the fourth quarter.
“I take pride in my defense a lot,” Matthews said. “I saw that he was the main engine to their offense, so I just wanted to remove him from it.”
Fenwick (14-6, 3-3) was able to hang with the Mustangs for 2 1/2 quarters. The Friars trimmed St. Rita’s lead to 33-32 with 3:02 left in the third quarter on a three-pointer by Mike Ballard.
St. Rita closed the quarter on a 8-2 run to take a 41-34 lead on the way to its third straight road victory. Matthews had six points at the start of the fourth quarter to help the Mustangs open up a 53-36 lead.
Ballard led the Friars with 15 points, including nine in the third quarter.
“We just got out of our rhythm,” Ballard said. “They started fast-breaking and were just pushing the ball. If we happened to score, they just pushed it and got a lay-up and got it right back. We started pushing and taking bad shots; we just were not able to get back in our rhythm.”
Senior guard Kain Harris added 12 points for St. Rita, while Armani Chaney finished with nine points.
![Northbrook police are investigating a series of burglaries to adjoining businesses that happened between 2 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday in the 2800 block of Dundee Road. According to a news release, officers received a call of suspicious subjects at a business plaza. Officers arrived and located several businesses with shattered front doors. The Northbrook Police Department is currently reviewing surveillance camera footage of the incident. “We want to remind businesses to remove and/or secure all valuables that are visible and ensure that cash registers are cleared and left open,” Police Chief Christopher Kennedy said in the release. “These small […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2023/05/01/QADYFXPB4NCFVPX5FV4OSN6WVY.jpg?w=535 "Northbrook police are investigating a series of burglaries to adjoining businesses that happened between 2 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday in the 2800 block of Dundee Road. According to a news release, officers received a call of suspicious subjects at a business plaza. Officers arrived and located several businesses with shattered front doors. The Northbrook Police Department is currently reviewing surveillance camera footage of the incident. “We want to remind businesses to remove and/or secure all valuables that are visible and ensure that cash registers are cleared and left open,” Police Chief Christopher Kennedy said in the release. “These small […]")
