Slow start costs St. Charles East boys basketball against Mundelein

There’s Chris Martin, singer/songwriter of the rock band Coldplay.

And there’s Chris Martin, sophomore forward of Mundelein’s boys basketball team.

The latter rocked, too, and helped the host Mustangs get off to a hot start in a 62-48 defeat of St. Charles East Thursday night.

The 6-foot-6 Martin, who played limited varsity minutes last season, served as a putback machine, scoring all 12 of his points off offensive rebounds. He also finished with game-highs of 15 boards and four blocks as Mundelein improved to 2-1.

“Chris got in the right position often,” said Mundelein coach Matt Badgley, a Coldplay fan. “Quick kid. He’s been doing well for us, and he’s taking advantage of his opportunity this year.”

The hosts zipped to leads of 15-2 and 19-5 in the first quarter, with Martin authoring eight points in a span of 1:28. Mustangs senior guard Trey Baker (11 points) added seven points in the quarter, including a three to start the scoring at 6:16.

Mundelein edged St. Charles East (0-2) 15-14 in the second quarter but enjoyed a 25-14 rebound advantage in the first 16 minutes.

“I was disappointed in our start, too many turnovers (three in the first minute of the first quarter), and we got killed off the boards,” Saints coach Pat Woods said. “Mundelein, that’s a team with a lot of nice pieces.

“It’s only day nine for us. We’re learning on the fly.”

The Saints got their way back in it, producing a 10-3 run at the end of the third quarter and scoring the first two points of the final quarter to trail only 46-40. But electric Mundelein senior guard Conor Enright, who scored 14 points, responded with a 3-point play 14 seconds later. Baker, who drew an offensive foul at the 6:49 mark, then hit a field goal to stretch the Mustangs’ lead to 51-40.

St. Charles East junior forward Rahul Gor, who scored a team-high 11 points, kept things interesting with a personal run of a bucket and pair of free throws.

Mundelein then sealed its second straight victory with a game-ending 11-4 spurt.

“We’re still a little out of sync,” Badgley admitted. “We’re trying to find the right flow.”

Mustangs senior forward Jack Bikus had only two points, but he flourished as a rebounder with 10 and a disrupter with four steals and one block. Fellow senior Scottie Ebube, a 6-foot-9 center, finished with six points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Ty Moenning contributed eight points, including two 3-pointers.

Saints senior guard Matthew Peddy poured in 10 points. Five of senior guard Joseph Musial’s seven points came in that 10-3 run at the end of the first half. Senior forward Zachariah Masud came down with a team-high nine rebounds.