Velinski in right place for Palatine
It pays to be at the right place at the right time. Just ask Palatine's Jake Velinski.
Velinski was to set a screen for teammate Michael Orris' drive along the baseline. When the defense abandoned Velinski, the senior forward accepted the pass from Orris (8 points, 5 rebounds) and banked in the game-winning shot.
Velinski's basket with 3.2 seconds left gave the host Pirates a 36-34 victory in the Mid-Suburban West on Thursday night.
"It was a huge win for us," said Velinski who scored 7 points. "I'm a soccer player and in basketball I just grind it out. I just try to go for the loose balls. We knew we had to play better half-court defense tonight in order to stay in the game."
Velinski came up with one of the bigger defensive plays as the Pirates (4-3, 1-1) matched their overall win total of last season. He stole the ball with 1:06 left in the game and the Pirates trailing 34-33.
Nat Pearson (7 points) made the second of a 2-shot foul to tie the score with 53 seconds left.
The Hawks (4-2, 0-2) committed their eighth fourth-quarter turnover on an over-and-back call 10 seconds later.
Palatine milked the clock before Velinski scored.
"Velinski was a freshman 'B' player and hardly played as a sophomore," said coach Eric Millstone. "He began to develop as a JV player. You don't notice him out there, but he does things that help you win. Hopefully we can build some momenteum with this win."
A desperation 3-point try by Kevin Tiongson (10 points, 6 rebounds) ricocheted off the backboard.
"We didn't take care of the ball with an 8-point lead (30-22) to start the fourth quarter," said Hawks coach Bill Wandro. "We just weren't looking to score. We gave them points on our turnovers."
The Pirates led early 5-0 but then fell behind on a 10-point run by the in the first quarter. They did not lead again until the final basket.
"We played well together," Millstone said. "The defense played a good half-court game and Orris played a good floor game. When he gets into a rhythm, we're a better team."