Pirates' complete game stuns Saxons
In the midst of a frustrating season, Palatine put it all together at Schaumburg.
The Pirates, winners of only 2 games all season going into to Friday night's Mid-Suburban West boys basketball clash, used a relentless, attacking, 32-minute effort to shock the host Saxons 58-46.
Junior Nat Pearson led Palatine (3-16, 1-6) with a game-high 20 points.
"These kids have been practicing hard and doing all the right things," said first-year Palatine coach Eric Millstone, who savored his first conference victory and the end of a seven-game losing streak.
"They've had a great attitude all season, and it's nice to see them get rewarded."
Chris Kelly of Schaumburg (15-5, 4-3) scored a team-high 15 points.
"I thought both teams came out with the same effort and enthusiasm," said Schaumburg coach Bob Williams, "but they were able to persevere throughout the entire game. It's very disappointing."
A ball-hawking defensive effort led the Pirates to a 30-19 halftime lead.
"We tried to break the game down into eight-minute segments," said Millstone.
"We played a good opening 16 minutes, but like I said at halftime, at that point we still hadn't accomplished anything. It may sound cliched, but we tried to take it one quarter at a time."
Pearson nailed a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, then freshman Michael Orris (7 points) hit a layup to start the fourth and just like that Palatine was up by 21.
"At that point," said Pearson, "we kept attacking, and kept playing together."
Palatine still led 55-33 with 3:54 remaining but Schaumburg wasn't about to go down without a fight.
The Saxons used a stifling full-court press to cut the lead to 12 with a minute left, but some key free throws down the stretch from Palatine senior Matt Rossi and a little keep-away kept Schaumburg from getting any closer.
Rossi played a stellar all-around game with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals, while teammates Tommy Galvan and Cody Bobbitt pitched in with 7 points apiece.
Declan Geraghty scored 12 points for Schaumburg while Joe Infusino added 8 points, including 2 first-quarter 3s.
"This was a great team effort," said Pearson.
"Our whole team is pumped right now. We want to keep pulling together, and keep it going the rest of the season."