Name: Carter Clark

School: St. Francis, senior

Sport: Boys basketball

What he did: In two consolation games in the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, Clark scored a team-high 17 points and added eight rebounds in a win over South Elgin, and also added 22 points in a victory over Andrew to round out the tournament.

Clark was selected as the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week based on an online vote.

Here is his Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

How do you feel you performed last week?

Clark: I thought I played pretty well. I came out knowing we needed to turn things around and get the win, so I’m glad I performed well, as well as the team, and we we’re able to come out with two wins.

What was your mindset heading into those games against South Elgin and Andrew after starting the tournament 0-2?

Clark: We came together as a team, and we knew we weren’t playing to the best of our ability, so we just (had a) different spark and energy, and we were fortunate to have shots fall down. I’m glad we came out with a different intensity for those last two games.

You had 17 points in the win over South Elgin and 22 against Andrew. What were you feeling during those games?

Clark: I was feeling the urgency. I knew we need to turn things around. So we started hitting big shots, stepping up and making plays because we knew we couldn’t walk out of that tournament without a win.

How’d it feel to come out of there with the wins as you head into the second half of the season?

Clark: It was just good to get those wins under our belt and boost our record closer to .500. We have some tough CCL teams coming up in conference play, so it’s good to get some momentum heading forward. And we’re only seeing even better teams as we go on, so we need to pick it up.

You have a lot of returners from last year, including four of five starters. What’s that been like?

Clark: With so many returners, we know we have the chemistry and we can build off of what we did last year. The guys get along so well, and we know what we have in store. So we just need to keep building and building as we head towards a playoff season.

Any superstitions?

Clark: I always have a Honey Stinger Energy Stroopwafel in the locker room before the game. And then once we’re on the court, I do the same warm-up and hit the same shots. And then me and my teammate Tanner Hozian have a little thing we do before every game.