Schaumburg 55, Palatine 50
Schaumburg outscored Palatine 7-2 in the final 1:47 of their Mid-Suburban West boys basketball game Friday, giving the host Saxons a 55-50 victory.
Cully Payne tied the game at 50 on a putback with 1:47 left, and Perrish Bell made a layup following a steal 11 seconds later to give the Saxons (12-6, 4-3) a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
For most of the game, Palatine's stingy defense forced Schaumburg to be patient in its first game in two weeks.
"They took us out of everything we want to do," said Saxons coach Bob Williams.
"They were playing man, and we were running a lot of offense," said Payne. "As we went along, we got better."
"Every time we play them, they come out ready to play hard defense," said Bell. "At the half, we realized if we make our cuts, we could get some layups."
"We executed our screens better," Williams said. "We were more persistent about cutting in the second half."
Palatine led 17-10 after one quarter, but after 3-point plays by Blake Mueller (11 points) and Sean Everitt in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter, it was never more than a two possession game the rest of the way.
The Pirates (7-13, 1-7) led 22-21 at halftime, despite losing center Josh Rustman to foul trouble in the first minute of the game. The Saxons took a 40-39 lead into the final quarter.
John Castellano's 2 free throws gave Palatine its last lead at 50-48 with 2:04 remaining. After Bell put the Saxons ahead, Payne cashed in 1-of-2 free throws and then got loose underneath for an easy basket on an assist by Bell.
Schaumburg's final points came on a full-court pass from Dan Slowik to Payne (13 points) on an inbound play with 19 seconds left.
Four Saxons scored 9 or more points, led by Payne (13), Mueller (11), Bell (10) and Brandon Bolger (9). Castellano and Matt Rossi each scored 13 for the Pirates.
"We did a very good job defensively in the first half, but we didn't make enough plays at the end," Palatine coach Ed Molitor said. "We needed a couple of defensive stops and didn't get them."