ST. CHARLES – While finals may be finished, the Warrenton boys basketball team still has two tests remaining before Santa stuffs his jolly ole self down chimneys on Christmas Eve.

The Warriors open their Gateway Athletic Conference North slate Friday when they visit St. Charles West, and then they’re off to Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University Saturday for an 11:30 a.m. matinee against Pattonville as part of the four-day, 16-game GAC/Suburban Challenge.

West was the cream of the conference crop last year, finishing with a 20-8 record and winning a Class 4 sectional versus Borgia before falling to Laude in the state quarterfinals.

But that squad, which included GAC North Player of the Year Trent Champagne, now at Quincy University, was senior heavy and some injuries sustained during football have also limited West a bit in the early going.

West’s Warriors are 3-4 overall. They fell 63-40 in their season opener at St. Charles and went 1-2 at the MICDS Tipoff Tournament before a 2-1 mark at their own Warrior Classic Tournament, defeating Ritenour and Ft. Zumwalt West but falling to eventual champion Ft. Zumwalt South 55-43 in the semifinals.

Junior Brayden Wampler-Foust, a 6-1 guard, has been West’s leading scorer in averaging 14.4 points per game.

John Wilson, a 6-6 junior center, has been an effective presence in the post. He’s averaging 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Shifting to Saturday’s opponent, this will be the second straight year Warrenton has played Pattonville in the GAC/Suburban challenge with the Pirates winning the first meeting 78-59 despite 27 points from the Warriors’ Jake Tonioli.

Pattonville was 8-17 last year and is off to a 3-2 start in 2019-20. The wins have come against Whitfield, St. Charles and St. Mary’s, while Kirkwood and Hazelwood East have handed out the losses.

The Warrenton/Pattonville game is the second of seven on tap at Lindenwood Saturday. The slate includes Parkway North/Francis Howell North at 10 a.m., North Tech/Winfield at 1 p.m., Eureka/Timberland at 2:30 p.m., Parkway South/St Charles at 4 p.m., Lutheran North/Francis Howell Central at 5:30 p.m. and University City/Francis Howell at 7 p.m.

Warrenton heads into conference play with a 4-2 record and is coming off a 66-48 home defeat against Holt on Dec. 11.

The Indians, who are 4-2, had four in double figures, paced by Cade Ellegood’s 15 points.

Brett Smith had 17 points and Sam Toenges had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors. Travis Toebben leads the team in scoring through the first six games with a 15.3 average.