Payne sparks Saxons
Cully Payne accepted his coach's halftime challenge.
"I talked to him about being a leader," said Schaumburg coach Bob Williams.
If being a leader means scoring 16 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter, then Payne came through with flying colors.
The Saxons remained undefeated for the season and the Mid-Suburban West (7-0, 2-0) with a 78-56 boys basketball win at Palatine on Thursday.
Payne's big third quarter helped fend off a Palatine rally that trimmed Schaumburg's 34-21 halftime lead to 44-35 midway through the period. The Saxons outscored the Pirates (1-5, 0-2) by a 15-6 margin in the final 3:19 of the quarter take a 59-41 lead.
"We were struggling in the first half," Payne said. "I just felt like it was time to blow it open."
"In the third quarter, we came back with good focus," Williams said.
Payne was 5-of-7 from the field during the quarter, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
The Pirates were able to create several easy baskets in the third quarter by spreading the floor and looking for back-door cutters. Tommy Galvan made 3 straight baskets late in the quarter to keep the Pirates within striking distance.
Palatine junior Nat Pearson scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half, and Justin Swiercz provided the offensive spark for Schaumburg, scoring all 17 of his points before intermission, including four 3-pointers.
"We ran the offense to get him open looks," Williams said of the hot-shooting Swiercz. "Our struggle all year is to be more consistent."
In the second quarter, the Pirates made just a single field goal and had just a pair of free throws until 1:51 remained in the half.
The third quarter was a different story, with Pearson, Galvan and Matt Rossi scoring 14 of the team's 20 points. Rossi scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half.
A pair of traditional 3-point plays by Payne on consecutive possessions turned a 4-point game into a 17-7 Schaumburg lead with 2:27 left in the opening quarter, and the Pirates played catch-up the rest of the way.