If the question is how do you completely shut down an opponent before the halftime horn sounds, Glenbard North has the answer.

Hit 10-of-15 3-pointers in the first two quarters, and play lights-out defense.

That was the recipe for success for the Panthers Wednesday night in a 75-46 DuKane Conference victory over visiting St. Charles East.

Glenbard North junior forward Caeden Chilton, in his first season on varsity, led the way in the first half for his team by scoring all 15 of his points. Classmate Lamari Carpenter, a guard, paced the Panthers with 22 points in the game (including 5 3s).

Chilton said that it’s nice to light up the scoreboard, but the defensive effort is more important.

“Defense comes first,” he said. “Always, when we do better on defense (that leads to) more scoring on offense.

“Just win,” said Chilton of the mindset of his team coming into their games. “That’s it. We never want to lose.”

Chilton added that moving up from the sophomore team to varsity this year is a “whole new experience.”

“It’s really fun,” said the junior. “I enjoy it a lot. Can’t wait to see what’s to come. I see my role on this team as the hustler. The rebounder, crashing the boards, passing the ball to my teammates, getting good open shots.”

St. Charles East trailed 25-9 after one quarter, then hurt their chances in the second quarter by making only 3 of 10 free throw attempts.

The Saints, though, played much better in the second half.

“At halftime we talked about energy,” said St. Charles East senior forward Gavin Belli. “In the first half we didn’t have the energy and that’s really not who the Saints are. We’re a hard working team.

“We talked about our offense too. We just weren’t getting into it. I felt like we were a little sloppy. In the second half we were getting our guys the ball and went on from there. Down the road I definitely think our offense will be a lot better.”

Carpenter’s third 3-pointer of the first quarter staked Glenbard North (5-1, 2-0) to a quick 16-5 lead. The Panthers extended the advantage to 16 points after one quarter, then scored 20 more in the second stanza to take a 45-17 lead at intermission.

St. Charles East (1-5, 0-2) made an 11-5 run to begin the third quarter, but Glenbard North righted the ship and a 3 from senior Kristian D’Alexander gave the Panthers a 65-37 lead after three periods.

Both teams substituted freely in the second half as the Panthers cruised to the victory.

St. Charles East senior guard Michael Hill led the Saints with 13 points, all of those coming in the third quarter.

D’Alexander and classmate Matt Welch each scored 12 points for the Panthers, while teammate Oturo Redento pitched in with 11 points and a game-high 7 rebounds.

The Panthers made 15 3s in the contest.

“I thought we had a really good start tonight,” said Glenbard North coach Kevin Tonn. “We played well on both ends to start with. We had some offensive and defensive goals tonight and we really wanted to make a statement.

“Especially in the first half, we did a nice job. Our defensive end gave us a lot of energy, we were getting points off the defense. That’s when we’re playing our best.”