Henry Schlickman didn’t really have a clear mindset after grabbing the basketball with just five seconds remaining in the first half.

With the clock winding down and the Wheaton North senior holding the ball at the top of the key in Saturday’s game against St. Charles East, Schlickman maneuvered his way to the corner of the court, hoping for a chance to find an open lane to get a shot off before halftime.

And once he looked at the clock and realized time was running out, he stepped behind the 3-point line, threw up a shot and drilled it at the buzzer.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to throw it up, and it goes in sometimes,” Schlickman said. “It was great and gave us great momentum.”

The momentum was something the Falcons never let go of, as Schlickman went on to finish with a team-high 23 points to lead them to a 65-31 victory over the Saints.

“As good as an offensive player and overall player he is for this team, he’s also just a really good leader and driving force,” Falcons coach David Eaton said. “He’s answered every bell and challenge that we’ve had. For him to come out and play like that, that’s kind of what we’ve come to expect out of him.”

Schlickman’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer put an end to a commanding second quarter for the Falcons (6-2 overall, 2-1 DuKane), who entered halftime up 37-16 after holding an eight-point lead after a quarter.

A lot of it was thanks to the senior guard, who had 16 of his 23 points come in the first half, going 5-of-7 from the field and sinking four 3-pointers.

“It’s all in our preparation,” Schlickman said. “We have a second group that goes at it all week and always gets us so ready for these games.”

His play also opened up the scoring throughout the court. Senior Briggs Burnick finished with 11 points, while senior Ben Gilmer was close behind with nine points.

“We hit those 3s early in the second, and that just opened everybody up to play,” Eaton said. “He’s been great in being able to do anything that we ask, and it’s one of the biggest things that has really helped this team.”

Schlickman also added a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter. After grabbing a steal at mid-court, the senior dribbled the ball back to the corner before taking a moving shot that he swished, putting an end to his night on the floor in style.

“That shot was a lot more lucky,” Schlickman said. “I didn’t really have a good look at the hoop, so I just threw it up and really allowed us to get that second group that works so hard to get in.”

The Saints (1-6, 0-3) came out of the gate applying the pressure on defense, forcing a double-team tactic that the Falcons initially struggled with.

But with their starters facing early foul trouble, the Falcons took full advantage with a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter, opening up a hole the Saints could never dig themselves out of.

“We came out early and had a lot of good energy, but then we missed a couple gimmes and had a couple of key guys get in foul trouble early which hurts,” Saints coach Rob Klemm said. “And when Schlickman played, he was phenomenal.

“They played their system well. And when you get back like that, it’s kind of hard to claw your way back.”

One of those Saints players who faced early foul trouble was senior Cooper Jensen, who got two fouls within the first minute before sitting for the rest of the quarter. Despite that, he still finished with a team-high 10 points, with senior Gavin Belli close behind with eight.

“Cooper has been a guy that’s been playing really well for us, so to have him go out early definitely hurt,” Klemm said. “He has a lot of good athleticism both on the defensive side and offensive side of the ball.”